Somebody That I Used to Know
by marisa lee
Summary: A Peanuts high school AU mainly honed in on Lucy x Schroeder. "You know what, Linus? You should just give up. True love is something that doesn't exist anymore. You know what's going to happen is she's gonna forget her feelings for you. She'll find something more important than you, like a dead guy, and push you right off her piano. That's what's going to happen."
1. Silence

**A/N: Hello, Peanuts lovers! I feel it's very redundant to say that I have found this fanfic page due to my part in the musical, _You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. _What can I say? My director told me to do some research on my character, and one thing led to another!**

**So I started off with a short Linus/Sally fluff which was so very fun to write, I don't know how many times I have to say it, but I have an _enormous _soft spot for Salinus. Anyone who writes anything close to cute about them, no matter how terrible the writing, I'm putty in their hands!**

**While I absolutely _adore_ their cute little pairing, I also have always enjoyed Lucy/Schroeder. After seeing that there are NOT THAT MANY of these (WHY?) I decided to take it upon myself.**

**So without further ado, I present you with my very first little Peanuts novella, so to speak. Please enjoy and review! Thanks all!**

**xoxo ~ml**

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*Chapter One: Silence.*

_"D'you know something, Schroeder? I think the way you play the piano is nice. D'you know something else? It's always been my dream that I'd marry a man who plays the piano. At parties he'd play something nice, like April Showers. I'm sure you could play something nice, like April Showers. Beethoven's nice, too. Just imagine, what would you think if someday you and I would get married? Wouldn't you like that if someday we two should get married?"_

_..."NO!"_

_"My Aunt Marian was right. Never try to discuss _mar_riage with a mu_si_cian."_

...  
>Ten years later<p>

"Since when did ... _he_ get so ..._hot?_"

Lucy yawned. It was the gang's first day back at school. Lucy and the others (except for Sally) were in their junior year of high school. Frieda, Violet, Patty, Lucy and Sally were clustered around their usual before-school hangout: a tall oak tree right outside the school beside the front double doors. They were observing everyone as they made their way around the schoolyard, watching out for any new faces that might interest them-_ male _faces, in particular.

But one very familiar face stood out in the usual crowd of immature, pizza-faced teenagers. Light blonde hair that gently curled around his ears, wearing a deep purple v-neck with thin black stripes. He had on black skinny jeans with purple converse. He strolled across the school yard with his purple backpack slung over his shoulder, holding it steady with one hand. His other hand he waved around, twiddling his fingers in the air as if playing an imaginary keyboard. His head bobbed very slightly in time with his fluttering fingers. He reached his small group of friends on the opposite end of the yard and turned his back to the girls.

"Seriously, who knew a year's exchange student trip to Germany could have such an effect on him?"

Again, Lucy yawned. Her long black hair was loosely collected into a single pleat which snaked down the side of her neck and hung down to her belly button. She wore a deep, night blue v-neck with a silver pendant hung around her neck. She had on black skinny jeans and dark brown moccasins with night blue ribbons which matched her shirt. She seemed to be the one girl who wasn't very interested in the blonde boy. She rolled her eyes as her friends climbed over each other to get a better look at the back of his head.

The youngest of the girls, Sally Brown, was dressed in jeans and a cute, baby blue flowered top that fell gracefully over her shoulders and slim waist like a flowery blue waterfall. She stood up on her tiptoes to try and peek over the top of Frieda's curly red head.

Even on tiptoe, her height barely increased by a few inches. Of course, it didn't help much that Frieda was the tallest girl in their little group. She had always been pretty tall, and she'd kept her reputation throughout the majority of middle and high school. Her bright red hair, as usual, was curly and styled to perfection. It reached the very small of her back and still left the other girls green with envy over her gorgeously perfect locks. She wore a bright yellow top with a thick black belt wrapped around her lower waist. She had dark blue jeans and black boots on her feet. She grasped Lucy's arm tightly as she gazed dreamily at the boy.

Violet and Patty wore matching green tops which were splattered with pink paint. They had made these shirts over the summer during a cheer camp they'd both attended and were very fond of them. Violet's dark hair reached her shoulders and was straight and perfect. Patty's blonde hair was short and chin-length, her bangs held back by a simple green bow. The two girls were extremely close friends and stood in sort of a mini-huddle, whispering and giggling to each other about the blonde boy.

After a while, Lucy became bored with her friends obsessing over him.

"Come on you guys," she muttered half-heartedly, trying to pique their attentions. "School's about to start! We should be worrying about better things than that, er... _ him right_ now!"

Frieda scoffed and let go of Lucy's arm. "Oh yeah? Like what? Homework on the first day? Get real, Lucy, this is what's important."

The other three girls paid no attention to the encounter and went on whispering amongst themselves.

Lucy threw her arms up in defeat. "You blockheads make me sick," she groaned. She looked desperately around the schoolyard for another friend she could talk to-someone else who wasn't boy-crazy and gaga.

She didn't have to search for long, however; as soon as she turned around she spotted two of her old friends, Peppermint Patty and Marcie, sitting on the ground near the wall. They hadn't spoken in a while, but hey-she was _Lucy. _She was _sure _they would be _honored _to have her even say a single word to them. So she quietly stepped away from the goo-goo-eyed gawkers and headed over to the girls peacefully talking to one another.

"Hey, you two!" she announced, plopping herself down with them without a second glance. She jerked her thumb over her shoulder and smirked, "Those blockheads over there are going crazy over ol' whatshisname being back in the country or something. So I decided to come over here and join you guys. So just continue on with your conversation, like I'm not even here."

Peppermint Patty and Marcie shared a look of confusion and annoyance. Peppermint Patty's green t-shirt and navy basketball shorts were wrinkly and worn, for she barely had more than three outfits to her name. Marcie's red t-shirt and gray sweatpants shared a scrubby likeness to her best friends' outfit, but held a bit more slack and misplacement to it.

Peppermint Patty turned her head without shame, first towards the cluster of girls, and then followed their gaze to the small group of boys on the opposite end of the yard.

"Who is _that?_" she asked, half disgusted, half surprised.

Marcie pushed her large round glasses up her thin nose and replied, "Looks like Schroeder's back from his study abroad program to Beethoven's birthplace, sir."

Peppermint Patty rolled her eyes. "Big whoop," she grumbled, turning back to look at Lucy. "He isn't thatcute." She did a double take and quickly shook her head. "Not as cute as Chuck, anyways."

Lucy decided now was as good a time as any to get the subject off of the newly-returned student-even if it was to talk about her least favorite blockhead. "_Well_? Are you guys _dating_ yet or what?" she asked Peppermint Patty assertively, giving her a friendly nudge.

Peppermint Patty's eyes flickered from Lucy's face to Marcie's before she answered with a small grin, "Yeah, you could say that."

Lucy forced a friendly smile for a moment, and then dropped the act at once. "Oh who am I kidding, why would you ever date _that _blockhead? What do you see in him anyways? For ten years he's been nothing but a screw-up and you actually want to have a _relationship _with him? You sure do need to get your eyes checked, because I'm pretty sure the only one who thinks Charlie Brown is cute is his own _mother,_ for Pete's sake."

Peppermint Patty's reaction was a bit different from what Lucy expected-she laughed. Lucy's eyebrows furrowed but she kept her angry poise. Then to her embarrassment, Peppermint Patty stood up and walked around her, to greet her boyfriend with a big hug and a peck on the cheek. He'd been standing behind her the whole time.

"Hiya, Chuck!" Peppermint Patty said ironically.

He responded with a muffled "Good grief."

Charlie Brown hadn't changed a single bit since the old days. He still wore that same old yellow short with the black zigzag stripe on the front. He still had a large, round head. He still had white-blind hair that blended in with his skin, so he still looked bald. He was still the same old wishy-washy Charlie Brown.

Peppermint Patty laughed. Marcie stood up and offered her greeting as well ("Hello, Charles,") and left Lucy sitting on the ground feeling foolish as ever.

But that didn't phase her (Did anything ever phase Lucy?). She hopped right up and grabbed hold of Charlie Brown's hand, giving it a firm shake.

"Glad to see you survived your summer, blockhead," she said in her usual tone.

He blinked as she shook his hand, almost numbing it. "Good to see you too, Lucy."

She let go of his hand with such force that it swung backwards and he smacked himself in the leg. "Ouch," he muttered, rubbing his hand. He glanced over his shoulder at the huddled girls—one of them his own sister—and wrinkled his eyebrows.

"Schroeder's back already?" he wondered out loud to no one in particular. Lucy rolled her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time that day.

Peppermint Patty shrugged and Marcie chirped up, "He sure has gotten handsome in the past year."

Then Lucy snapped.  
>"ARGHH!" she cried, causing the others to whirl around and stare at her. Here comes another one of Lucy's famous rants... "Yes<em>,<em> we all under_stand _that he's back, and Germany made him cuter than ever! We all _know _that it's _him _and he went to the birthplace of _Beethoven_ for Pete's sake. He's still the same old kid who sat at his little piano as a kid, playing Beethoven and Bach and all that other stuff that drove me crazy. He's still obsessed with Beethoven and he still plays the dorky little piano-I bet even the same exact little toy one he used to have. He's still the same rotten little boy who broke my heart two summers ago and I'm still never going to forgive him for it. _ Never._" Lucy was nearly in tears now. She was also nearly screaming. She was panting and her long black braid had become messy and _unkempt_. Her deep blue eyes glowed fierce with the fire of rage and despair. Her friends didn't understand what it was like for her to have to see him again, after he'd left her. After the boy she'd loved had ripped out her heart in the cruelest of ways that summer. That summer seemed so long ago, so distant; they were two young children, it seemed, and Schroeder still had that cute, boyish charm that she'd loved so much about him...

...  
>2 summers earlier<p>

_"You're-you're _what?_"_

_"I'm leaving."_

_Lucy blinked and threw herself off of the small piano she'd been leaning against. "What? Why? Where are you going?"_

_Schroeder was grinning from ear to ear as he told her of his year-long trip to Germany which he was to take in a few months. He told her how it was the birthplace of Beethoven, and how he was going there to visit for some foreign exchange program._

_Lucy blinked again. She blinked several times, her eyes fogging up. "A whole _year _you're gonna be there?" she managed to choke out. He nodded again, still grinning excitedly._

_She turned away from him and wiped her eyes with the backs of her palms. "Well what am_ I _supposed to do while you're gone? Just sit around all day and do nothing?"_

_His smile faltered a bit and she still didn't look at him. "I don't care what you do while I'm gone," he said matter-of-factly. "I'll be in Beethoven's birthplace and the beautiful country of Germany. Beethoven loved the country, you know. Maybe I'll be able to take long strolls in the silent-ha, silence! Can you believe it? A whole year away from—"_

Lucy tried to force the memory out of her head. She couldn't go back to reminding herself how little he'd cared about her-how much he'd hurt her. But she couldn't do it. The memory of his words crept into her head as she stood there in the schoolyard, having just freaked out yet again on her friends over the boy she'd once lived every breath in her lungs for. It took all of her strength to struggle back to reality and wake herself up from the terrible nightmares that were her memories with him.

"...Lucy? Are you okay?"

She opened her eyes. Charlie Brown was standing in front of her still, with one hand hovering protectively over Peppermint Patty. Both Peppermint Patty and Marcie had looks of worry and fear on their faces—as if Lucy might lash out at them at any second.

Another person had joined the four of them—none other than Lucy's younger brother, Linus. He had skipped fifth grade and was tall for his age, so he fit in with the older crowd well. He was slender and lank, wearing a dark red t-shirt with black stripes running horizontally across it. He wore black jeans and black converses. He held in his hands a tiny scrap of blue fabric—all that was left of his blue security blanket. He had worn it into extinction, wrapping it around things, snapping it at everything—he had tried his best to sew the pieces back together, but it had been hopeless. Now all that was left of the blanket was a small scrap, roughly the size of a sheet of loose-leaf paper, and it was laced into his fingers like a gentleman's handkerchief.

He stood there with his other hand in his pocket and stared at his sister. It had been him who'd asked if she was okay. She stared back at her brother for a moment, thankful for a relative's face she could focus on as her breathing slowed back to normal.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Sorry."

Thankfully she hadn't caused too much of a scene—most of the highschoolers gathered around the school hadn't noticed a thing—especially not the gaga girls—and thankfully not Schroeder. He was nowhere to be seen.

Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, and Marcie all relaxed a little, but they were still on guard in case another one of Lucy's aftershocks occurred—which, every so often, they did.

Luckily, the school bell saved the five of them from any further discussion. Lucy, still panting slightly, snatched her backpack up from the ground where she'd left it and followed the rest of the group inside the school.

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**A/N: Well there you have it—chapter one! PLEASE review! I can't write a chapter 2 unless you review me! If I don't get at least ONE review, I will DISCONTINUE! So please, please, PLEASE review! I need all the tips and opinions I can get!**

**xoxo ~ml**


	2. My Muse

**AN: Hey everyone! Lucy, Schroeder and I are back with chapter two! Hopefully this one gives a bit more insight to the plot. It wasn't as easy to write as the first chapter, so bear with me here! Well, without further ado, I present chapter two!**

**xoxo ~ml**

…

**Chapter Two: My Muse**

_"What're you gonna play now, Schroeder?" Lucy asked, leaning against that same, little piano he'd had for so many years. She was getting too big to sit atop of it now, but she could still sit on his floor and lean up against it as he played._

_Schroeder glanced up from the keys, his hands unmoving; the piano remaining silent._

_"Nothing very good, with this old thing," he grumbled in response, gesturing to the worn keys in front of him. For eight years he'd played on those keys. For eight years he'd made beautiful music emit from the belly of that toy, and now that he was nearly fifteen, he needed an upgrade._

_"I really wish I had a grand piano, one that has foot pedals and everything," he mused. "Then I could play whatever I wanted and it'd sound great..."_

_"But you already do sound great," Lucy told him, flashing him her best award-winning smile. He simply scoffed and banged one fist on the keyboard. A straggled, evil sound escaped the keys and Lucy covered her ears in protest of the awful noise. "When we get married, you'll have a great grand piano, right in the center room!" Lucy assured him, taking her hands off of her ears as the ugly noise faded. "You'll sit and play it for all of our dinner party guests, and they'll all come to me and say what a wonderful party host I am! 'Lucy, we love you,'" she sighed. "Ahh, yes, I can hear them now!"_

_Schroeder banged his other fist on the keyboard. "Get out, Lucy," he muttered. "I'm not going to marry you. Even if it means I have to play on this same old toy until I'm a hundred and five."_

_Lucy was taken aback slightly but certainly not hurt by his comment. "Oh, Schroeder, you'll learn to love me sooner or later!" and with that, she skipped out the door..._

Lucy Van Pelt couldn't stand it anymore. All day she'd gotten curious stares and judging glances from people she didn't even know. Her little fiasco this morning had cost her major popularity points. But for once, she didn't care. She was so sick of everyone just assuming that she was thrilled Schroeder was back. Nobody knew what happened two summers ago and she knew nobody truly even cared. All they wanted to know was the gossip. That's all anybody cared about these days. She needed to get away, to clear her head—but what chance was there of that happening in Chemistry class?

She sighed and picked up her pencil again to fill out a syllabus form she'd just received. She glanced up at the clock. 45 more painstaking minutes and school would be over. She'd managed to make it the entire day without even looking at Schroeder. She didn't have a single class with him, and for that she was grateful. She didn't think she could bear to even hear his voice after their last encounter.

The most depressing part about the situation was that she doubted Schroeder even knew what he did to her. He was a clueless idiot, that boy, and he'd left her for Germany without saying goodbye. What's worse was that the last words he'd said to her were "Can you believe it? A whole year away from you!" At first she'd blamed it on his excitement. He was so hyped up about his upcoming trip; he didn't even know what he was saying.

But that didn't make it hurt any less. Although Schroeder had never been the most avid of Lucy-lovers, he was always still kind enough to allow her into his home and to let her lean on his tiny piano as he played. He was never, in the sense, as _rude_ to her as he had on been that day.

She desperately needed to get him out of her head.

She glanced up at the clock once more. A mere three minutes had passed since the class had started. She groaned and peered around the room, looking for some form of distraction.

She didn't talk to a single person in this class, which made it all the more unbearable as the time stretched on. You'd think in such a small school there would be more people she knew, but for some reason this was the one class which happened to have the most new faces. There was one familiar boy who sat in the back of the room, though. He had on a Hawaiian shirt and his hair was curled into several short, nappy dreadlocks. She knew him from somewhere, but she couldn't think of where.

Herself, she sat alone at a lab table for two, as after that crazy scene from this morning, her perfect image had been slaughtered and any new people were simply petrified at the sight of her.

She sighed again and rested her head in her arms as she tried her hardest not to think about Schroeder. She thought about the teacher of the class, Mr. Klott, and how his moustache was not very complimenting and how he really ought to shave it off. She thought about chemistry, in fact, as she read every single poster on the wall—twice. She stated at the clock and willed the time to go faster.

She was in luck. For a brief moment, it seemed, the handsome blonde figure stayed out of her immediate thoughts and other things occupied her mind. For a moment, that is, until there was a light knock at the door in the classroom.

Every head swiveled around, including her own, to see who it was at the door so early in the class period. Mr. Klott swiftly marched to open it, slightly irritated to have his lesson interrupted.

"Yes, yes, what can it be," he muttered under his breath as he turned the door handle, allowing a tall, blonde-and-purple figure to step gingerly inside the classroom.

Lucy literally smacked herself in the forehead—earning her a few questioning looks from fellow students—and muttered, "Good grief."

"You must be Schroeder," Mr. Klott said observantly, eyeing the boy suspiciously. Schroeder nodded nervously and stepped fully into the classroom now, fully aware that every eye—save for Lucy's—was on him.

"Yes, sir," he said shakily, following Mr. Klott as he motioned for him to approach his desk. "I-I couldn't get my locker open."

Lucy buried her head deep in her arms again. His voice was just how she remembered it—soft and enticing. It made her heart leap. She mentally told her heart to stop g jumping jacks or she'd slug it. Mr. Klott clicked his tongue.

"Aren't you a junior, boy?" Mr. Klott asked Schroeder, who nodded. "Shouldn't you know how to open your locker by now?"

Schroeder said nothing. Mr. Klott was obviously not looking for a direct answer as he checked Schroeder off of his attendance clipboard. He then surveyed the classroom. Lucy gulped as she followed his gaze, realizing that the only empty seat happened to be the one _directly next to her_.

"Well, take a seat then, boy," Mr. Klott told Schroeder. "I can't hold off my lesson all day while you dawdle."

Lucy immediately buried her face in her elbows again. _Maybe if I just stay hidden he won't realize it's me_, she thought to herself.

Without a second glance, Schroeder plopped himself down in the seat next to her. He must not have recognized that it was her, because he did not even look at her as he slumped far down in his seat. Lucy felt the vibrations as he tapped his fingers nervously on the edge of the lab table and Mr. Klott began his lesson. It was as if Schroeder was playing that same imaginary keyboard again. Lucy fought the urge to jerk her head up and stare at him. But she remembered their final words together, and she shuddered. She couldn't let herself go back there again. She kept her head firmly held down for the rest of the class period.

Luckily, there wasn't much to learn and Mr. Klott didn't seem to mind her paying absolutely no attention to his lesson. As soon as the bell rang, Lucy slowly raised her head and her eyes adjusted to the light. She didn't even look to her left as she gathered her books and stood up out of her seat.

She whirled around—and smacked right into Schroeder's broad chest.

At that moment, she forgot who he was. She forgot who she was. She just knew that her Lucy 'charm' had kicked in, and once it caught flame, there was no stopping the raging fire that burned inside her chest.

"Watch it, blockhead!" She said forcibly, shoving him out of her way. All that rage and fear that'd been built up inside her all day came forth in a quick burst of energy. But she still kept her face down and she didn't look at him. A flash of purple and black, and a quick shove, and he was gone. She darted out of the classroom without a single glance behind her.

_It sure feels great to be back in America. Although the scenery in Germany was beautiful, Beethoven's ancient hometown was one of the greatest things I've ever seen in my young life, and who doesn't love sitting on a bus for hours at a time as I went back and forth between tourist attractions? But I'm glad to be back at home with my family and my friends. I got really homesick while I was away. Most of all, though, I missed sitting at home, playing my little piano—no matter how small and worn it is—and just being able to let myself go on those keys. I had a chance to play while I was in Germany, if only a little. It wasn't the same, though. Something was missing. It felt too quiet, too distant; I couldn't concentrate. Now that I'm back, though, I can go back to school. I spent the entire plane ride home hoping my friends hadn't changed too much while I was gone. I know I've changed a lot. I hope it's for the better, though. I'm ready to start my career now, thanks to that enlightening trip. I'm more set on becoming a famous pianist than I've ever been in my life. Now that I'm 16, I can start performing in front of an actual audience, in an actual opera house!_

_Coming back to school today was great. I was so happy I got to reconnect with all my friends as soon as they saw I was back. I'm glad I came back before the start of the school year, too. Everyone was excited about the new classes and teachers, so I wasn't that out of place in the crowd, being excited and all. It was great that all my friends were so happy to see me. It really made me feel loved. I was surprised to see that my good friend Charlie Brown was now dating Peppermint Patty, a girl from our baseball team. I was really happy for them! Aside from that, I didn't see anything that had changed among my immediate friend circle. Well, there _was_ the fact that all these girls kept staring at me all day. I mean, most of them knew who I was—I was still the same old Schroeder. Why did they stare at me like that? But it wasn't like those girls' opinions mattered much to me, anyways._

_I managed to make it through most of my classes just fine—I hadn't gone to that school in a year, so it was kind of tough making my way around and remembering where everything was. I was on a roll, until my last class came around and I couldn't open my locker. I felt sheepish knocking on the closed door almost five minutes into class. The teacher, Mr. Klott, acted annoyed with me and bluntly told me to take a seat. I glanced once around the room and immediately could tell this was not going to be a fun class. I didn't know anyone in the room at all, not a single face was recognizable. No faces, but I _did_ see a familiar head. I smiled and sat myself down next to Lucy Van Pelt, thankful that I knew at least _one _person, even if it _was_ her. I was never very fond of Lucy, ever since the first day she realized she was obsessed with me and wanted everything to do with me. It got really annoying, and most of the time I ended up kicking her off of my piano and out of my house, but there was no kicking Lucy Van Pelt out of my thoughts. Every time she left, I found myself lost and I couldn't play properly. I had to picture her in my head saying something about the two of us getting _married_ before I could play again, if you can believe it. She often crossed my mind while I was gone, too. I kind of felt bad for the way I'd treated her on the day before I left. We'd been talking, and sort of I told her I was happy I was going to be away from her for a whole year. She didn't seem to mind it—she never seemed to mind when I said something rude to her—she just looked slightly taken aback and told me she had to go. It was very unlike Lucy to leave on her own—usually I had to force her out before she'd move a muscle. She didn't even come to see me off the next day. I was a little hurt, but what was I going to do, force her? I was better off without her, anyways; she was getting in the way of my _talent.

_I was happy to finally have a chance to speak to her now, though, in biology class, so I could apologize for sounding rude. She must not have been feeling well though, because she kept her dark head down the entire class period, keeping as still as stone. I decided to wait until the end of the class period to say anything to her. When the final bell rang, she leapt out of her seat at the same time I did. I turned around to face her and she ran straight into me. It wasn't my fault—I was just standing there and she hit me, head-on, but I started to apologize for that, too, anyways. Seemed like I had a lot of apologizing to do._

_Before I could say a word, she snapped, "Watch it, blockhead!" and shoved me to the side, darting out of the classroom, leaving me totally and utterly speechless._

_She didn't even _look_ at me. That whole time in class, what if she was trying to avoid _me_? She couldn't still be angry about that whole thing that happened a _year_ ago, could she? It didn't seem very unlikely—she _was_ Lucy, after all._

_I didn't think too much of it as I rushed home to try out my parents' welcome home present to myself—a grand piano! It was just my size—and not a moment too soon, either! I'd just begun to notice a few of my keys were falling off on that old toy piano. I figured Lucy would come barging in any second, so I started to play my favorite piece: Beethoven's fifth._

_I finished the piece—and five more after that—and still, no sign of Lucy. I was actually kind of shocked. I thought for sure she'd be breaking down my door now that she knew I was back. I couldn't help but feel a little sad inside. Something about playing my new grand piano without Lucy here felt wrong. It just felt…empty. I sighed and glanced at the clock. It was already ten-thirty. Lucy isn't going to come, I told myself. I stood up and stretched. I got ready for bed, taking as long as I could to do so, just in case my muse came running through the door. I kept telling myself, _she might! She might!_ But she never did._

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I didn't really like writing this one, myself, but I thought I'd take things in a different direction by using Schroeder's perspective for that last part! It was a pretty boring chapter but I had to make sure things were all established to thank you for being patient with me! Also, thanks all for the reviews and I hope to get chapter three coming at you really soon! So stay tuned, and KEEP REVIEWING! :)**

**xoxo ~ml**


	3. They'll Never Understand

**A/N:**

******PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING!******

**Hello all, sorry it took me longer than I thought it was going to take me to update! I have been changing a few ideas based on some of the reviews I've been receiving; they've been so helpful, thanks to everyone who has reviewed!**

**The only things I've changed are points of views. You probably noticed last chapter there was a portion from Schroeder's point of view. Well, I've decided to add in the POV's for a few more characters besides Lucy and Schroeder: Linus, Sally, Snoopy, and Charlie Brown. Lucy is still going to be third person mono, though. Don't worry; it's nothing too life-altering! I'm hoping to add in a bit more of them as future chapters progress!**

**Thank you for being so patient, and please continue to review!**

**Thankfully yours,**

**xoxo ~ml**

**Chapter Three: They'll Never Understand**

_**Charlie Brown**_

"And then she called on him and he told her the answer was apple strudel!"

Marcie and Franklin burst into laughter as Peppermint Patty finishes her story. I hide my face in my hands. We're all sitting at my kitchen table "doing homework". The others (Marcie, Franklin and Peppermint Patty) discuss our first day at school. But instead of talking about normal things, like classes or teachers, they just _have_ to focus on every single one of my screw ups of the day.

"Hey, it isn't all that bad," Franklin says in my defense, "I mean at least Charlie Brown got the subject right! Remember that time the teacher asked him what the capital of Utah was and he recited the entire quadratic equation?"

The girls laugh again and I feel my face turn beet red. Peppermint Patty slides her arm around my waist and pats my hand comfortingly.

"Aw, c'mon Chuck, you know we're just kidding with you," she says, pecking me on the cheek, causing me to turn even redder, if possible, and slink down in his chair as Marcie and Franklin avoid each of our eyes.

Suddenly, the door to the kitchen swings open, making way for a beagle wearing sunglasses and a sun visor, dragging an umbrella behind him. Allow me to introduce my dog, Snoopy. We all stop and watch him as he struts across the kitchen floor, nose in the air.

He flings open the refrigerator and begins snatching some things out of it, such as orange and grape juices, apples, grapes, peaches, celery sticks and ranch dressing. He heads to the freezer and throws that wide open too. He removes the ice tray and dumps the entire contents into the kitchen sink. He throws the empty tray, along with everything else, into a knapsack almost twice the size of his own body and drags it along the floor behind him, exiting the same way he came.

We stare at the door for a moment after he leaves, half expecting him to come running back through it into the kitchen.

"I just wish I had a normal dog like everybody else," I sigh.

"He sure is a funny-looking kid," Peppermint Patty mutters, still gazing towards the door with a confused expression on her face.

I ignore her comment. She thinks my dog is a human. The others laugh, although Peppermint Patty looks a bit confused as to why they find it funny.

I honestly don't really want to know what my crazy dog is up to this time. I have way too many other important things on my mind. Like this summer reading evaluation packet I got from my English teacher! It's a bit hard to do an evaluation on something you've never read before! Of course, if I would have started reading it at the beginning of summer, I would have forgotten it by the end of summer. If I started it at the end of summer, I'd have been too distracted to pay attention to what I was reading.

So I never read the book.

Luckily, there's Marcie. Also, there's this new thing called Spark Notes, a really helpful website for procrastinators like yours truly. But for those of us whose only computer is "in use" by our dogs for half my life, there's Marcie. She knows everything there is to know about anything. It's a wonder she's still only in high school. I suppose she does it so as not to call attention to herself. Marcie is a very humble person. But in a good way.

"Say," Franklin says after a moment of silent working (a rare occurrence). "Where's Linus anyhow? Didn't you invite him to study with us, Charlie Brown?"

"Yes," I say with a nod. "He said he had something else to do, or something. So he stayed home." the truth is, my friend Linus actually only wanted to stay home because his sister Lucy invited _her_ friends over today, and he likes to be there when they're around. For obvious reasons.

I'm sure they could go on about my failures in life for about eighty more years, but they know when to stop, and that's what I like about them. There's a difference between just joking around and taking it too far. Lucy Van Pelt is a fine example of exactly that difference. She never knows when to stop, and always takes it too far with me. But what am I supposed to do about it? I can't chase her down; she could run circles around me. I can't hit her, because for one, she's a girl. Secondly, she would probably laugh in my face anyways. She wouldn't even feel it. Lucy is like a sister to me, though. We've known each other for as long as I can remember, and even though all she ever does is threaten me, and tease me with that stinking football, and yell at me... and make fun of me... among other things... As much as I hate to admit it, she does give pretty good advice. Whenever I fall down (save for the football teases) she's always the one to pick me up, brush me off, and throw me back into the ring again. And I appreciate it, I really do, sometimes I don't know where I would be without Lucy—but she's really been worrying me lately. Like just today, she had a spazz attack. Not that it isn't unusual for her to flip out when somebody says two wrong words. But today it was different. All I said was, "Looks like Schroeder's back," and she had this mental breakdown. I felt like I should have helped her somehow, but that desire quickly evaporated half out of fear, and half due to the fact that I was trying to prevent her from accidentally (or even on purpose) hitting Peppermint Patty in the face. Not that my arm around my girlfriend's shoulders was making any difference for her, anyways. She and Marcie kept their distance as Lucy lashed out on us, causing a great big scene in the schoolyard. When she stopped to take a breath, I could see the fire in her eyes. It felt as though she was shooting lasers out of her eyes at me, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and Linus. What surprised us all even more was how she simply stood up after she was done and just walked away as if nothing happened. The whole rest of the day, I couldn't figure out what was eating her, or what had made her snap like that. The only thing I did notice was the way she kept on staring at Schroeder like she was mentally smashing rocks over his head. Now I can't help but wonder what I could have done to help. Probably nothing I did would be any help to her, anyways. I'm just silly old wishy-washy Charlie Brown.

o

o

_**(2 Summers ago, July)**_

_Schroeder and Lucy were, for once, not sitting at his piano. His dad was fixing a few of the keys after an epic attempt to play Beethoven's Tempest first movement had gone awry. The two were sitting together in the grass on the baseball field. Schroeder was less than happy about the fact that as soon as he'd decided to take a walk in the quiet field, his number one fan had also decided to tag along. He definitely was not looking forward to hearing about her decisions about their future together, or her complaints about everything._

_But surprisingly, she was different today. She was quieter, more down-to-earth; distant. The two of them sat underneath the bright blue sky and talked for hours. They talked about everything there was to talk about. Schroeder didn't know what was causing Lucy to act like she was, but he sure could get used to it. He liked this Lucy. She let him talk; she didn't interrupt him when he was saying something. And she actually listened. He was floored by her sudden abnormal behavior. It wasn't until they'd been talking for almost 3 hours did he work up the nerve to ask her what was up._

_Her shoulders went rigid and she quickly turned away from him. Was Lucy crying? Schroeder didn't know what to do. Lucy took a deep breath and wiped her eyes._

_"My grandma died last night, Schroeder."_

_He didn't know what came over him. He just knew that he couldn't bear to see her cry. Her voice broke and he slid over to her and gently put his arm around her shaking shoulders. He held her in his arms as she cried, not knowing at all what to say. They sat intertwined for who knows how long, until Lucy's cell phone ringtone broke the silence. She had long since stopped crying, and had now just been cuddling up to Schroeder for support._

_She sat up a little bit taller and answered, sniffling, "Hello? Oh, hey Linus. Alright, I'll be home in five minutes. Bye." Lucy stood up without a word and started walking towards her house. Schroeder sat there for a minute. She didn't even look at him as she left. His arms felt empty now that she'd gotten up. He hadn't wanted to let her go._

_He went to stand up but Lucy whirled around and faced him. She stood about ten feet away from him. He looked at her questioningly as she took a few steps back towards him._

_"Schroeder?" she said hesitantly. He looked at her. She blinked several times and took another deep breath to keep herself from crying. "Thanks."_

_He nodded in reply, absolutely speechless, as she turned back around and ran away._

o

o

_**Lucy**_

"I have two classes with him!" Violet shrieked, clapping her hands together eagerly. The little clique, including Violet, Patty, Sally, and Frieda, was sitting on the floor in Lucy's room. The others moaned jealously at Violet's excitement.

Sally Brown folded her arms across her chest, pouting. "You guys are so lucky; I have less chances of having a class with him than you do."

Frieda scoffed. "He's too old for you, Sally," she said to the younger girl. "He wants someone with a little more maturity." she patted her hair and smiled smugly.

"He's only a _year_ older than me!" Sally pouted.

"Hah," Patty laughed, "Even Snoopy has a better chance of getting with Schroeder than you do."

"Haven't you still got that obsession with Lucy's little baby brother, anyways?" Violet piped up. Frieda and Patty nodded in agreement.

Sally flushed a deep shade of pink. She did like Linus. Okay, so that was an understatement. It was a well-known fact that she'd had her eyes set on the blanket-clutching boy for as long as anyone could remember. When she was younger, she was famous for embarrassing him with the nickname "Sweet Baboo" and following him around like a puppy dog. She'd grown up quite a bit since then, but her childhood crush still held firmly in place. Although she tried her best to conceal it, she often found herself blurting out his nickname in public.

"Ohh, come on Sally, give it up already," Frieda rolled her eyes. "Who needs Linus when there are bigger and better men in the world—men who don't carry stupid little blankets!"

"Like Schroeder!" Violet chimed.

"Yeah!" Patty echoed. "Like Schroeder!"

A unanimous sigh fell over the four of them and Lucy scoffed.

They stared dreamily into space until Frieda turned to Sally and remarked evilly, "But it's not like he would date a _little girl_ like you, anyways."

Sally opened her mouth to retort when Lucy, who was sitting on her bed, threw a pillow at her.

"Shut _up_ about him already!" she screeched. The girls looked at her, confused. "You guys are being so immature! Schroeder wouldn't want to date _any_ of you! You don't even know him!" Frieda stuck her nose in the air and patted her hair. Violet and Sally stared at Lucy with shocked expressions on their faces. "Which one of _you_ sat on his piano for nine years in a row, listening to him play all day every day? Do any of you even know a _thing_ about Beethoven?"

The other girls exchanged glances with one another. The moment was stretched tense and strained until, finally, Patty spoke.

"We all know you were the closest to him, Lucy," she remarked innocently. "I guess we've only just noticed him because of how cute he's gotten." The other girls nodded.

"Yeah," Frieda agreed, "You obviously knew him the best. We just thought you'd feel the same way about him as we did, especially now that he's like, totally hot."

"I thought you of all people would be excited about him coming back," Sally said. "You guys were _really_ close."

Lucy winced. It was true. She _had_ known Schroeder better than all of them. But nobody knew what had transpired between them before he'd left. Nobody knew except for herself and Schroeder.

But she couldn't let these girls know her weakness. Luckily, she was a great liar. "I'm over that blockhead," she replied coolly, shifting her position on the bed. "He was such a _jerk_ to me. I dumped him right before he went on his stupid trip." She leaned in close, smiling that devilish smile of hers. They inched forwards, desperate to hear the story. "That way I _knew_ he'd be thinking about me the whole time he was there." The other girls stared at her in awe.

"Just like that?" Patty whispered.

Lucy smiled smugly. "Yep. Just like that."

The girls sat in silence for a minute, pondering Lucy's words. Lucy knew she had them wrapped around her finger now. Or at least, she thought she did.

"So that means he's like, completely single now?" Frieda cried happily, breaking the tension. All the other girls started talking at once, fighting over who would have a better chance with him.

"AUGHH!" Lucy shouted, pelting another pillow down at them. They screeched and ducked out of the way, laughing and giggling and hitting each other with the pillows. Lucy made a noise that very much resembled the noise Linus made when he accidentally left his blanket behind. They would never understand.

A light knock at the door made them freeze. Lucy shook her head and called, "Who is it?"

"It's Linus!"

All eyes darted to Sally, who eagerly jumped up to open the door.

"Hi, my sweet—I mean—Linus!" she said eagerly, blocking his way into the room. He tried to push past her into the room but she wouldn't let him by. His cheeks flushed a deep red and he tightened his grip around his now security "blanket", if you could hardly call it that.

"Lucy," he called over Sally's shoulder. "Mom says everyone has to leave by 9."

Lucy nodded. "Okay!" she said a bit too excitedly. Linus's face disappeared from the doorway, but Sally wasn't about to let him get away from her.

"Linus wait!" she called, dashing out of the room and running down the stairs after him. _I'd rather have Sally chasing after my blockhead baby brother than Schroeder any day_, Lucy thought numbly. _That's one less desperate girl I have to worry about._

Violet, Frieda and Patty stood up off the floor and crowded in front of Lucy's floor-length mirror to fix their hair. They took their time gathering their school bags and said goodbye to Lucy, hugging her and telling her they'd see her tomorrow at school. By the time they actually left, it was five after nine.

She waved them off and as soon as she was sure they were gone, Lucy picked up the pillows off the floor, fell down on her bed and buried her face in them.


	4. You're Invited!

*** AN: Hello Peanuts fans! Thank you for being so patient for chapter four! I'm actually pretty excited for this chapter. It's much longer than the first three, but I took my time to write this one so hopefully it's better too! I would also like to apologize for the changes in tense, I didn't realize it when I was writing it and then by the time I caught it, it was too late. But it isn't particularly bad, and I'm sure you can survive through it. :D**

**Without further ado, I present chapter four: You're Invited. Please enjoy, favorite and most importantly, REVIEW! ***

**xoxo ~ml**

**Chapter 4: You're Invited**

_**Snoopy**_

It's time I went on vacation. The round headed kid is nice and all, but I can only be around him for so long before I go insane. He never feeds me on time. I'm always so hungry! And there aren't any women here! That girl with the black hair is such a babe...but I think she hates me ever since I tried to sneak a drink of her root beer.

Here I am laying on top of my doghouse, as I do day in and day out, twenty four-seven. It gets very boring. Ah, here comes my friend, Woodstock, the little yellow bird. What do you say we get away for a little while, Woodstock? Does Florida sound good to you?

_"llllll lllll ll lllllll!" _He replies, flapping his wings excitedly.

Excellent! I hop down off of the roof and jump inside my house, snatching a large suitcase and filling it with random things. I watch Woodstock dig out a much smaller suitcase and try to collect his entire nest into it. You don't need your whole nest, Woodstock! We're going to the beach! They have no trees, just sand!

"_lll llll lll llll lllllll lllll llllllll_?"

Oh, I suppose it would be alright if you brought along your croquet set...maybe I should bring mine, too.

I go ahead and toss my mallet and balls into the suitcase. I then continue to add in my food dish, which is very important, my tennis racket, and my diving suit complete with oxygen tank, goggles and flippers. I make sure to pack all of the things I gathered from the kitchen earlier, like the umbrella and the ice cube tray. I was attempting to make my very own indoor smoothie station (which was a complete fail, might I add). After that, I throw in some towels, sunscreen, portable radio, water recliner, and my swimsuit.

After everything is packed, I admire my perfectly closed suitcase and smile, congratulating myself. Now I turn my attention to Woodstock. He is frantically attempting to shove his favorite remote control car into his small suitcase. I chuckle and snatch it out of his hands. Allow me. I wind up and in one great move; I slam the car into the bag.

"_llll! lllllllll_!" Woodstock cheers, jumping up and down and clapping his wings together happily.

I take a bow. I pick up my suitcase and check the time on my watch. It's quarter to six. If we leave in the next few minutes, we can catch the six-thirty flight to Miami.

We better go tell the round headed kid we're leaving, Woodstock. I drag my suitcase to the back porch, with Woodstock following close behind. We barge through the back door and lug the bags to the living room, where the round headed kid is sitting on his couch, watching television. How unusual.

Hello, round headed kid!

He looks up from the television, directs his vision to me. "Snoopy? Where are you and Woodstock going with those bags?"

I chuckle.

Well, you see, me and my bird friend here are going on a vacation to get away from you. We will be in Florida for the next few weeks. See you later!

Then, I walk right up to him and plant a nice Snoopy brand kiss on his cheek. Those are very rare and hard to come by. He thanks me by wiping it off in disgust and confusion. I roll my eyes and bury my face in my luggage for a moment. I dig out this brochure for Miami and hand it to him.

"Vibrant and contrasting neighborhoods filled with hotels, restaurants, attractions, shopping, nightlife, events, attractive singles and more," he reads from the brochure. His head snaps up to look at me, "You're going to Miami?"

Ding ding ding! We have a winner!

I snatch the brochure out of his hands and shove it back into my suitcase. I give him a hearty salute as I about-face and march out the back door again, suitcase and Woodstock in tow, leaving the round headed kid staring after me with complete and utter confusion on his face.

Woodstock and I are very excited. The bus to the airport arrives on our street corner in about five minutes.

Goodbye, round headed kid, hello, beautiful women and sunny weather!

o

o

_**Sally**_

I found my Sweet Baboo sitting all alone on his couch at his house, looking cute as ever. I tried not to squeal as I dashed into the living room and plopped myself right down next to him.

"Hey, Linus," I greeted him as coolly as I could. I was sitting so close to him, trying so very hard not to faint. He didn't turn his head but his eyes flickered to me.

"Hello, Sally," he replied with a bored voice. He directed his gaze back to the television.

I mentally kicked myself for sounding so stupid. Also, for sitting so close to him on the couch. I could move away from him, but for one thing, it would be awkward, and for another, I didn't really want to. So I stayed put.

"You _know_," I started casually, "The homecoming dance is coming up in a few weeks..."

He didn't move a muscle. "Mhmm," he muttered distractedly. I used that as my cue to continue.

"Yeah, well, I was _hop_ing that _may_be you _might_ ask _me_ to go with you."

We sat there for a moment in silence. I was just beginning to think that he didn't hear me when he nodded ever so slightly. "Oh," he muttered. I blinked. Did he just say 'oh'? I suggested he ask me to homecoming, and he just said 'oh'? Not 'no', not 'never in my life', just 'oh'. I tried so hard not to squeal like a newborn piglet again.

"So that's a maybe?" I tried hopefully.

His face didn't move from the screen as he nodded. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, Sally."

I jumped up excitedly. "Really? You really mean it Linus?" I cried, twirling around, right in his line of view to the television. Luckily it was a commercial, and his eyes finally focused on my face.

He blinked. "What?" he asked. But I was too excited to explain what had just happened to him. I was too busy jumping up and down for joy right there in the Van Pelt living room to even notice his confusion. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and frantically dialed my friend Eudora's phone number. I paced around the floor until she finally picked up on the third ring.

"Hello? Eudora?" I could hardly contain my ecstasy. "Guess what? Linus just told me he's going to take me to the homecoming dance!" Eudora sounded a bit jealous (she's had a bit of a crush on him too, but everyone knows he likes me best anyway), but she and I giggled over the phone and started to discuss what color dress I was going to buy.

We were so caught up in our conversation, that I barely heard Linus exclaim in the background, "I did _WHAT_?"

There was no use for him to deny it now, he had already agreed to it—even if he was a bit distracted at the time.

And besides. It's not like he was going to ask anyone _else_.

"Ooh, I'm just so excited, my sweet Baboo!" I cooed, spinning around again. "I'm going to tell everyone!"

I had to admit the look on his face was priceless, and I sort of knew he hadn't been paying attention when he agreed to take me to the dance, but the news was just too good to be true. I couldn't help but act excited about it. I darted out the door, still on the phone with Eudora.

o

o

_**Linus**_

My favorite TV show is The Unexplained. It's an old show, but I still think it's pretty interesting. They show reruns on Thursday afternoons at four o'clock on the science fiction channel. I have never missed an episode in my entire career, and I was not about to start today.

But when Sally Brown darted through my door a minute into the show with this enormous grin on her face, I could tell this would not end on a good note.

She dropped herself onto the couch next to me. I tried my best to ignore her. This episode happened to be a very interesting one, where they were discussing Alien Invasions. Sally started to talk to me about something or other, and something else and then something else. I leaned in close to the TV so I could hear it over Sally's mindless jabber. I nodded occasionally, so it seemed like I was listening to her. I think I may have also added a few 'mhmm's in there to really convince her. All of a sudden, out of no where, she jumped up out of her seat as if her rear end was on fire.

"Really, Linus?" she squealed in that high-pitched voice of hers, twirling all around my living room, her long blonde hair whipping around her flushed porcelain face. I stopped watching my show for a split second to half admire her, and half look confused. I couldn't help wondering what I'd just agreed to _this_ time.

At the commercial break, I tuned her in. She was on the phone with Eudora now, talking about the homecoming dance. Topics really did change quickly with this girl, I thought. She and Eudora were discussing dresses and such. I rolled my eyes. I was about to suddenly realize how much the commercial for P90x intrigued me, when I picked up on a small snippet of the conversation on Sally's end.

"Yes! Linus agreed to take me to the dance!"

_That_ caught my full attention. I whipped my head back around to face her. "I did _WHAT_?" I cried, jumping out of my seat in outrage. But Sally just ignored me and went on blabbing into the phone. She waved goodbye to me and quickly blurted something about going to tell everyone about it. Then she blew me a kiss and skipped out the door.

I had never been so dumbfounded in all my life. I cannot believe simply trying to watch a harmless episode of my favorite show on the Syfy channel could lead to me absentmindedly agreeing to take Sally to the homecoming dance.

Oh, the things I get myself into.

o

o

_**Violet**_

Ugh. Charlie Brown. What a lousy excuse for a human being. Why was he even _living_? If I had my way, he wouldn't even be here right now. And if I had _my_ way, I certainly would _not_ be approaching him at lunch to hand him this light pink envelope—an invitation to my birthday party. If it was up to me, I would not invite him at all. I would laugh in his face like I always do, and me and Patty would stand there handing out invitations, and we would laugh, and life would be good. But no. Patty just _had_ to be the nice guy and suggest we invite him and his huge head to my party. Oh, there's one thing I forgot to mention.

It's Patty's birthday party, too. Our birthdays are only a few days apart, so we decided to have one huge, conjoined party. And Patty felt _sorry_ for Charlie Brown. She wanted to invite him to our party because she felt _bad_ for him. Puh-lease. I wouldn't feel bad for Charlie Brown if he was the last living person in the world. But Patty did. So we made him an invitation. And here I am, forcing myself to walk right towards him at lunchtime with the little pink envelope in my hand. He's sitting there with his peanut butter sandwich in one hand, his other hand intertwined in his Plain Jane girlfriend's. They are accompanied by that glasses girl, Peppermint Patty's sidekick, Marcie. I am only half surprised to see that there is no one else here. The rest of his friends probably abandoned him because they couldn't stand to see him with his 'girlfriend'. What a joke.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Failure," I say cruelly, grinning cruelly. "Sorry to interrupt the, ah, _interesting_ conversation I'm sure you two are having, but I have to give you something."

Charlie Brown looks at me in confusion. I roll my eyes and toss the envelope down onto the table. It slides towards him and he stares as it, afraid as if something is going to jump out of it and strangle him. I wish.

"_Patty_ wanted to invite you to our birthday party," I say in disgust. "And since she invited you, _both_ of you, you _better_ be there, or you're gonna regret it." I raise my clenched fist in the air, to make sure they get the point.

Charlie Brown gulps. Peppermint Patty has an angry look on her face.

"A party? And why would we want to go to some dumb party of yours?" Peppermint Patty snaps.

I laugh. "Because," I say menacingly, "If I don't see either of your hideous faces there, I'll make sure you both never see the light of day again!"

Before either of them can say anything, I raise my fist again, "Saturday. Be there. Or _else_."

I hurry away from the table before I'm seen talking to those freaks. I laugh silently to myself. _Just wait until Charlie Brown discovers what I've got planned for him on Saturday,_ I think to myself. _He's going to wish he was never born_!

I make my way back to my lunch table, to find Patty and Frieda discussing something important.

"Well, I gave him the invitation, Patty," I say reluctantly, sitting myself down in between Frieda and Patty. "Who's next?"

Both of the girls exchange a look across my shoulders. "What?" I say, turning my head from one to the other. "Who is it?"

I pick up the next invitation off of the stack on the table. When I read the name, my face flushes. I turn slowly to face Patty, and then Frieda. I whip my head back to watch Patty's expression. I squint my eyes at Patty. She does the same. We both slowly stand up. I still have the invitation clenched tight in my fist.

"You know," she starts, not breaking eye contact with me, "It's more my party than yours. It's at my house."

"True," I agree, raising an eyebrow, "but I made the invitations, therefore I should be the one to pass them out."

"You should not."

"Yes, I should."

"My birthday's first."

"I'm the youngest."

"Only by a day and a half."

"You've already got a boyfriend."

"Not for long."

We stand there squinting at each other for a moment longer, Frieda watching from the lunch table with an anxious look in her eyes. I didn't lie. Patty _does_ have a boyfriend. She's been officially dating Shermy since the eighth grade. But up until then everyone'd known there was something going on between them. I have to admit, I am a bit surprised at her response. Is Schroeder really the type of guy who is worth breaking up with your boyfriend for? Then again, Patty and Shermy have been fighting a lot lately. Maybe it's best they do break up...

But that means I have to fight my best friend for Schroeder. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Schroeder, sitting with his friends, Linus, Pig Pen, Franklin, and a kid named Roy at the boy's table. Luckily for Patty, Shermy was no where in sight.

In one swift move, I bolt towards the table. Patty's ninja reflexes keep her right on my heels. We look like complete idiots darting straight at their table, but I don't care. Patty seems to have forgotten that _I_ have the invitation.

We both reach the table at the same time, breathing heavily. The boys stare at us. I look at Patty. I'm closer to Schroeder than she is, so I take a final step to place myself directly in front of him. Patty steps close behind me.

"Hey Schroeder," we both say at the same time, still panting slightly. His gorgeous eyebrows crinkle together on his forehead and he speechlessly lifts his hand in hello. His other hand rests on the table and taps the fingers individually, like he's playing an invisible piano. Gosh, he's perfect. I look right into his baby blue eyes and nearly faint. Why didn't I notice it before?

Patty and I stand there awkwardly for a moment, admiring his perfection, until we both remembered the reason for being here.

"I'm having this party on Saturday—" I start.

"_We're_ having a party," Patty rudely interrupts. I shoot her the dirtiest look I can muster, then turn back and blind Schroeder with my best smile. He raises an eyebrow.

"I want you to be there," I say sweetly, handing him the invitation. I see Patty cross her arms and pout out of the corner of my eye. I don't care. Schroeder is giving me this look that could make angels sing. The rest of the boys at the table are watching tensely, biting their tongues, no doubt wondering if they'd be invited as well. _I'll get to them in a second_, I think numbly. Schroeder's gaze pierces my eyes. I think I might scream. Until he opens his mouth.

"Well I'd love to be at your party, Violet," he says charmingly, flashing me a gorgeous smile. "Will Lucy be there?"

I know he doesn't mean anything by that. I know he really doesn't care whether she's there or not. He only asked out of curiosity, I tell myself. He doesn't care. But I'm still pissed off.

I cross my arms. "Well, _yeah_, she's gonna be there," I snap. "She's my best friend. And she always gives expensive gifts."

He nods, considering this. "Is she here today?" he asks me. As if _I_ would know!

"No, she's home sick," Patty chimes in, pushing me out of the way. I shove her back, hard.

"I really hope you'll come, Schroeder," I coo. I reluctantly turn to his friends. Oh, yeah. All of you are invited, too. I've got more invitations over there." I jab my thumb in the direction of our lunch table. The rest of the boys let go of a long breath of relief. I grin smugly.

As we walk away, Patty blows a kiss in Schroeder's direction. What an idiot. Luckily he doesn't see it.

"Did you hear that?" Patty squeals, grabbing my arm and shaking me, "He says he'd love to come!"

"He's got the eyes of a god," I hum.

The both of us sigh. I think I'm in love.

o

o

_**Schroeder**_

I have to admit I was a bit surprised when I was approached by Violet and Patty at lunch. They came running up, blubbering something about a party they were throwing on Saturday. I couldn't even remember having a conversation with Violet of her friend Patty that didn't involve her insulting the size of Charlie Brown's head. Yet there they were, nervously inviting not only me, but my entire lunch table to their party.

So yeah, I was shocked. I think they were a little angry with me, too, when I asked if Lucy would be there. It was a silly question of me to ask; I should've known she would be. But I just had to be certain. Upon further inquiry, I learned that Lucy had stayed home from school sick. As they told me this, I tapped my fingers anxiously on the table. It's a nervous habit of mine. I always tap my fingers on the table, chairs, books, everywhere. Even when I'm happy. It reminds me of the piano. After I'd reassured the girls that I'd be at their party and accepted the little pink envelope, I said goodbye to my friends and headed off to my next class in a daze. At home, sick? Lucy was never sick. If she was sick enough to stay home she could have been lying in her bed, dying for all I know. I thought about that all the rest of the day.

After suffering through an entire hour of chemistry with no lab partner, I rushed quickly home. I threw my backpack down onto the floor in my room and ran to the closet. After shuffling around some boxes and things left unpacked, I saw what I was looking for. I pulled out the little black piano, old and worn out. I held it in my arms for a few seconds, each key and curve leaving a familiar feel on my fingers. I lifted it out of the closet and stood up. I carried the piano into the other room and yelled to my mother that I'd be home in a few hours. She muffled a reply. I darted past my very own grand piano—my prized possession—plunking out a few notes on the keys as I passed. It sounded so beautiful to me, those few notes, I was so tempted to turn right around and play my soul out. But I couldn't. I had to see Lucy. It just wasn't the same playing without her.

I hurried down the block in the direction of the Van Pelt house. I probably looked like a complete idiot, running down the street lugging this crappy old piano about half my size. I didn't care. I finally reached her house after two blocks. It was a bright blue house, like the sky, with a white door and windows. I had only ever been to Lucy's house a handful of times before, and on none of those occasions was I particularly excited to see her. I was always one to avoid Lucy Van Pelt, but no matter what I did, I couldn't shake her. She was on me like Beethoven on the piano.

I was greeted at the door by Rerun Van Pelt, who held a video game controller in his hand. He'd outgrown marbles by the time he was in third grade.

"Schroeder!" he exclaimed when he saw me. "Do you want to play some Halo?" He holds the controller in the air and gestures to the television. I shook my head.

"Sorry little man," I said, using my common nickname for the youngest Van Pelt boy. "I'm here to see your sister. Is she okay?"

Rerun blinked, a bit surprised. "Well...yeah," he said slowly, "she's up in her room. But I wouldn't bother her right now...unless you feel like dying a slow and painful death. She stayed home from school and she's been yelling at us to stay out of her room all day."

I pushed past him into the house and chuckled. "I think I'll take my chances." I led myself down the hallway to the door that had 'Lucy' engraved in gold on the front of it. I knocked gently with one hand, the other hand still gripping my little piano. Some shuffling sounds came from the other side of the door. I knocked again.

"I thought I told you to leave me _alone_?" Lucy shouted hoarsely. The threat was followed by a series of hacking coughs and what sounded like spitting. I winced. She sure sounded sick. I figured she was probably too weak to even open the door. So, I did her a favor and let myself in.

Bad idea.

What I saw was an image that will probably remain in my mind forever.

There she was, the same Lucy Van Pelt that I'd known my entire life, lying facedown on her bed, smoking a cigarette. There was a book open on the pillow in front of her and the smoke was escaping through a wide crack in the window.

I know I should have left. I should have backed out the door as quickly as I'd come. But something about that scene just made me stop dead in my tracks. I couldn't move.

Before I could do or say anything, she turned her head towards the door. We locked eyes, and the color must have drained from her face onto mine. We didn't move for what felt like an hour. She blinked and finally focused on my face.

"Schroeder?"

I grinned sheepishly. "Heeeya, Lucy..."

**AN: AHA! CLIFFHANGER! I love doing this to people. Mwahaha. The sad part about it is that _I have no idea what to do next!_ Okay, so I kind of have an idea, but it isn't set in stone yet. Please review. Leave your suggestions in a review! If I get a good idea I'll credit you in the next chapter. Thanks readers! :)**


	5. Apprehension

**AN: Well hello, long time no see! I know you've all been waiting anxiously for the next installment, have you not? I hope you've all decided to read my newest one-shot, 'Remember Me', idea given to me by my new friend Bekah, who you all know as supersexyghotmew95. As for ideas for this chapter I send out a whopping big THANK YOU to My Dearest Sally Sparrow and FunnyGuy2000 for a few things here, and to everyone else who reviewed! Enjoy and remember to review! :3**

**xoxo ~ml**

o

o

**Chapter 5: Trapped**

_**Charlie Brown**_

"_The sky is so clear and the sun is so bright_..._How can anything go wrong on a day like this?"_

o

o

I still feel like the same old wishy-washy blockhead, though. Even the perfect weather isn't enough to make me happy. I make my way to the park, my eyes set on the usual hangout: a brick wall around the edge of the sidewalk near the bridge. I walk glumly over and rest my arms on the wall in thought.

"I know why you're upset, Charlie Brown," says a voice, sending me jumping eight feet in the air. I whip my head around to see Linus, standing behind me with his little blue scrap of blanket held up to his cheek. At least he's gotten rid of that thumb-sucking habit. "You don't know whether you should go to Violet's party this weekend or not." He takes his place on the wall next to me, propping his face up on one hand. I only wish that is the least of my troubles.

"Oh, sure, Linus," I say to him, resting my chin on my arms again. "That's on the list. But that's not even the start of my worries right now." I sigh heavily.

"Well, go on, then," he urges, turning to face me. That's what I like about Linus. He always listens to me, and he gives good advice.

"Well," I begin, wondering where to start. "Let's see. I haven't seen Peppermint Patty ever since Violet gave me that invitation and I told her I might go. I think she might be avoiding me. I want to find her, to tell her I won't go to the party if it will make her happy. But I can't. I'm too lousy to even stand up to Violet. I'm a pushover. I don't even want to go to her party, it's not like I'll have a very good time there. And now my girlfriend's ignoring me because of it. Why do I even bother, Linus?" I take a deep breath. That sure was a lot to get off my chest. Ever faithful Linus sat there the entire time, listening carefully. Only this time, he surprises me. He doesn't give me word of advice. He doesn't try and tell me what I should do. Instead, after a long and tense pause, he...

"Your sister tricked me, Charlie Brown."

I blink.

"What?"

He closes his eyes for a moment. "Your sister tricked me into agreeing to take her to the homecoming dance," he says plainly, as if this was the most not-random thing to say in the world.

I try to act surprised. "She tricked you? How?"

Linus tells me the story of his vulnerability to his favorite TV show and how it had aided him into agreeing with Sally. I don't really know what to say. I listen almost as well as he had (or as well as I thought he had) but this really isn't like Linus. Whenever I tell him about something that happened to me or something that I need help with, he is first to jump to my aid. This time, he's ignoring me completely; avoiding the question.

"That's...interesting, Linus," I tell him with a weak smile. "But... I... How does that... What I meant was—"

"I'm getting there, Charlie Brown," Linus says quickly, cutting me off. He took his blanket away from his cheek for a split second but, deciding against it, replaced it comfortably there. "Your sister manipulated me. I, Linus Van Pelt, with an IQ of one-thirty, have been manipulated by a little blond girl. She's a woman, Charlie Brown, and all women will do whatever it takes to get their way. They step on whomever they must step on in order to climb that social ladder of success. Even if they have to tread all over our faces, so help me they'll do it. I think you should seriously consider and weigh each of your options here, Charlie Brown. What are the pros and cons of going to Violet's? Of not going? Which woman do you care more about, your girlfriend or some bully?"

I think about this for a moment. Linus makes a very good point. Of course, when _doesn't_ Linus make a good point? Of _course_ I care about Peppermint Patty more than I care about Violet. But I know that if Peppermint Patty and I skip out on Violet's party, we'll see no end to the laughter and judgment. Then again, Peppermint Patty's been really upset with me lately. She really doesn't want me to go to the party. I put my head in my arms.

"I just don't know, Linus."

He shrugs. "Well, Charlie Brown, if it means that much to you, you can always try and convince your girlfriend that it wouldn't be so bad, Violet's party. You know that once you go and get it over with, it won't be as terrible as the treatment you'll get if you don't go."

My face lights up at this. "Yes! You're right, Linus!" I exclaim, slapping him on the back a little too hard. "I'll just go see Peppermint Patty and tell her that it's not gonna be too bad if we go! Thanks, you're a real pal."

Linus blinks. "No problem at all, Charlie Brown," he says. "And do you think you could...you know, have a few words with Sally for me?" He clutches his little blanket in his hand nervously.

I chuckle. "I suppose I could, but you know her. Once she gets going, there's no stopping her!" He smiles weakly and I say goodbye. I have to see my girlfriend.

o

o

_**Peppermint Patty**_

Yeah, so what, I'm dating ol' Chuck. Who cares? I mean it's only been my dream since I was like five. Nobody ever cared about that. But now that he's finally mine, everybody can't leave us alone. Don't they have anything better to do than make fun of us? Doesn't that Violet creep have a boy to stalk or something? But no, she had the _nerve_ to come up to me and Chuck during lunch the other day and ask us to a stupid _party_ she's having. As _if_ we would want to go to something that stupid. I bet all she wants to do is to have an_other_ excuse to make fun of us. So I told Chuck that I wanted nothing to do with that party, _or_ that creep. And you know what he says to me? He _wants_ to go to that party. He's a_fraid_ of that creep. I laughed right in his face. I thought he was joking. But no. He actually wants to go. I didn't know what to say, so I just laughed and told him I was _not_ going to that party, no matter _WHAT_.

"It won't be that bad," he told me, "we can just go and get it over with, and maybe they'll stop making fun of us if we do. I promise." Good ol' Chuck, making promises we both know he can't keep. I think if he wasn't so awkward he would've taken my hand or something, but instead he stood there cowering, as if I was gonna hit him or something. I almost did.

So, the next thing I know, I'm calling up Marcie on the telephone asking if she got invited.

"Yes, sir, Franklin and I will be going together," she said smugly. I fumed.

"Great, now we probably _will_ have to go!" I exclaimed. "And don't call me sir!" I hung up the phone without telling my best friend goodbye.

Looks like I'd be going to Violet's party on Saturday after all. Maybe Chuck was right. Maybe Violet and her creepy friends would leave us alone if we went to her dumb party. I know I shouldn't be concerned with it, but I just got this silly picture in my head, of me and my Chuck dancing to this upbeat cha cha music or something, and I couldn't stop smiling. I turned my head towards my closet. For the first time in my life, I was forced with the dilemma: What was I going to _wear_?

o

o

_**Lucy**_

She hated herself. She hated everything she was. She yelled at her friends, she ignored her family, and she'd resorted to destroying herself. When she heard about the girls in her grade that did things to destroy themselves, who did drugs and smoked and drank and hated their lives, she had been appalled. However, the more she thought and heard about it, the more interested she became. _What else can I do?_ she asked herself. So she tried it. Not the drugs, not the drinking. Just the smoking. Her father was a smoker, she knew, and he kept the cigarettes in his car in the glove box. So one day before he left for work, she hurried into his car, grabbed the little white pack and the lighter from the glove box, and hurried back to her room, slamming the door behind her. It was Thursday morning before school. She figured she would just try it out before she left for the bus stop.

Unfortunately, that isn't how things turned out. She removed one of the little white sticks from the box and held it between her fingers, as she'd seen her father do so many times before. She stuck the end between her lips and struck the lighter. A little yellow flame sprang to life in front of her. She raised the flame to the opposite end of the cigarette and, closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply through it...

...and almost died. A foul sensation filled her lungs and stung her throat. Her eyes filled with tears and she coughed back the bile in her lungs. The cigarette fell to the floor and the light dimmed out to black ash. She coughed and coughed, spitting and hacking, rushing to the bathroom down the hallway, nearly colliding with her brother Linus on her way.

"Lucy? Are you alright?" he asked as she rushed past him into the bathroom.

She ignored him and threw herself down onto the bathroom floor, face over the toilet. She lurched and was violently sick. Linus stood in the doorway of the bathroom, not knowing what to do. He was half petrified; half disgusted to see his sister hunched over the toilet, her hair all over the place like that. Her _hair_. Luckily, Linus had a strong stomach. He rushed over to stand behind her, grabbing her hair and holding it behind her neck as she was sick again. He sat on the edge of the bathtub and placed one hand on his sister's back as she trembled.

After a few more lurches, she finally took a deep breath and fell sideways onto the bathroom floor in exhaustion. Linus placed his hand on her forehead. She was burning up. He hurried out of the bathroom to fetch a cold washcloth.

He rushed back in and placed the cloth gingerly on her forehead. "Come on, Lucy, let's get you back in bed," he said quietly, helping his shaking sister up off the floor. She tried to take a deep breath but ended up coughing again. Luckily there was no more vomit, and she lifted herself onto her feet and went with Linus into her room.

She was too worried about getting sick again to think about the cigarette and lighter still lying on the floor by her bed. She flopped down on the bed and took deep breaths, watching Linus out of the corner of her eye.

"Lucy..." he began, bending down and picking up the cigarette and lighter off of her floor. She winced. "Have you been...smoking?"

She waved her hand in his face. "Gimme that," she snapped, snatching the cigarette out of his hand and tossing it into her trash can next to the desk. "So what if I have? It's not your business. Get out of here. I have to get ready for school."

Linus didn't move. "But..."

"_Out_!" she shoved his arm but she was still pretty weak. He staggered back a step but didn't leave the room. "I swear to god Linus, if you tell mom..."

He blinked. "No... I won't."

"Good. Now get out."

He nodded and quickly backed out of the room, too shocked to speak. Lucy started to laugh that evil laugh of hers, but the coughs started up again so she stopped herself.

Ha. She wasn't going to school. Sure, Linus said he wouldn't tell their mother, but it was Linus. Honest Linus. He was probably telling her right now exactly everything he had seen. She was dead. She closed her eyes. Vomiting sure made her tired. Before she knew it, she was asleep again.

Lucy's eyes opened slowly and she squinted at the bright sunlight creeping through her window. She yawned. Her throat was still sore from earlier that morning. She glanced at the clock next to her bed. 2:43. School had just gotten out for the rest of her peers. She smirked. Staying home from school had its benefits. Then she remembered her brother. A sinking feeling twisted in her stomach and caught in her sore lungs. He was sure to have told their mother. Then again, she hadn't stayed home from work that day, so she couldn't have cared too much. _Oh, who am I kidding?_ she thought with a wince. _Mother's gonna kill me. She's probably plotting my sentence as I sit here. I am_ so _dead._ she threw the covers off of her body. That was strange. She didn't remember putting them on. She glanced at the bedside table. A glass of water and a folded sheet of notebook paper were placed there. She picked up the paper, which had her name scribbled on the front.

"Lucy," it read, "Went to work. Sorry to leave you alone, but you needed the rest. Feel better. Xoxo, Mom." she blinked in shock. Maybe Linus had kept his promise after all. She knew he would be home by now, probably playing video games with Rerun or something. She looked around the room. Her eyes fell on the little white pack of cigarettes that she'd carelessly left out on the dresser. Luckily, her mother hadn't noticed it. The lighter still lay on the floor, almost beneath her bed but not completely hidden from sight.

She was stupid. She was stupid and she knew it. But something about that adrenaline rush from before lingered in her mind and tempted her. _One quick try_, she thought. _It's probably not even as bad the second time._

In the blink of an eye she was on her feet, the pack of cigarettes in one hand, lighter in the other. She pulled out one of the white sticks, as she'd done before. Then a thought occurred. _What if Linus walked in? Or Rerun?_ she rushed over to the door and opened it a crack. There was a faint sound of her brothers quarreling in the other room.

"Hey!" she shouted. The quarreling stopped. "You blockheads better not be even THINKING about bothering me! I might spew chunks!" she heard her littlest brother Rerun make a sickly sound. Linus reminded silent. _I hope that gets them to leave me alone for a little while, at least._ God, she was so stupid.

She threw herself onto the bed again, lying on her stomach with the cigarette and lighter clenched in her hands. Just in case, she snatched a book off of the dresser and threw it down on the pillow in front of her, so it looked like she might've been reading.

She inhaled deeply. She could hardly feel that burning sensation from earlier. She put the cigarette in her mouth and lit it once again. This time, she took a much smaller breath into her lungs.

It still stung a bit, and her eyes still had tears from the smoke, but she'd controlled her coughs—at least for the moment. She was proud of herself. Well, sort of. She inhaled again and allowed the tangy taste of the tobacco to fill her lungs. It was actually kind of pleasant, once she got over the initial death feel to it. She was crazy to be trying this again. But she did it anyways. She'd finally gotten the hang of it when a knock sounded at the door, timid and testing, yet causing her to nearly fall off the bed, startled.

_Linus_, she immediately thought to herself. She rolled her eyes. _Can't I have five minutes of privacy?_

"I thought I told you to leave me _alone_!" She croaked. Her voice was hoarse and not at all the usual perky sound it was normally. Then she felt a cough tickling its way up her throat. She tried so very hard to hold it in, at least until her stupid brother went away. But it wouldn't stay down. Holding the cough in her throat only made things worse. It came out sounding like an explosion. She hacked and hacked, wondering if she would have to throw up again. The cigarette was still in between her two fingers, held like her father always held his. She finally stopped coughing after about a minute. She wiped her eyes and turned towards the door so she could bark at her stupid little brother—whichever one it was.

But it was neither the blanket carrying blockhead nor the marbles player. Instead, there in the doorway was the all-too-familiar blond head of Schroeder, watching her with huge, round blue eyes. A familiar little piano was in his arms. She blinked.

"_Schroeder_?" she stammered.

"Heeey, Lucy..." Schroeder said casually, starting to back out of the door. But something stopped him. He didn't move. Their eyes were locked onto each others'. There was a moment of silence. Lucy was the first to look away. She looked down at the cigarette in her hand. She blushed, ashamed. What on earth was she thinking? Lucy just wished she'd have thought her plan through. Smoking wasn't going to solve her issues.

She held the cigarette in disgust now, and threw it into the trash can along with the one from this morning. Schroeder watched her every move. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't look at him.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped, staring at the floor beneath his feet. He shook his head slowly, his eyes still locked onto her. She could practically hear the gears turning in his head, a million questions forming behind his eyes.

"I...I just came to see you, Luce," he replied, as if they were back to being best friends again. Sudden tears of rage built up in Lucy's trembling eyes. She looked at him now, her eyes wet and foggy but no tear overflowed just yet.

"Sit down, Schroeder," she whispered, her eyes widening and her head gesturing to the edge of the bed. He nodded slowly and she reminded him to close the door. He took a seat lightly on the other end of the bed, setting the tiny piano on the floor beside his feet. She turned to him.

"Do you see these, Schroeder?" she asked, gesturing to the pack of cigarettes on the bedside table. "This is what I've resorted to. This is what I've been doing...well, _tried_ doing today. I skipped school because it made me sick. Do you know why I'm so upset?" she still kept an eerie voice, barely above a whisper, surprisingly calm and collected. He shook his head now, still completely bewildered and too shocked to speak. She sneered. "It's because of you, Schroeder. That's why. Because of what...what you said the night before you left." her voice cracked and she sniffed. She stood up off of the bed and coughed once or twice with her back to him. She took a deep breath. Then she whirled around to face him, suddenly furious.

"You broke my heart!" she shouted. "You broke my heart into teeny little pieces, and you're just gonna come back here and tell me you wanted to see me?" she couldn't bear to look at him anymore. She turned away so she didn't burst into tears.

Schroeder didn't miss a beat. "I miss you, Lucy. I know what I said before I left hurt you...and that's why I'm here. I can't bear to have you angry with me. I'm sorry. I was stupid. I didn't know you would start..." he gulped. "I didn't know I meant that much to you. I was just so excited about the trip; I didn't know what I was saying."

Lucy didn't turn around. _Bull crap_, she thought. _Complete horse shit._

Schroeder waited for her to speak, but when she didn't he cleared his throat, "I want to make it up to you. Violet's having this party. I want you to be my date. Please."

Lucy turned around slowly, watching him now, searching his face for the joke. Was it supposed to be funny? Was he going to burst out laughing with an "April Fool!" any second now?

No. He didn't. He was being sincere. Lucy looked into his eyes and saw the same little boy that she'd known her whole life. "Yes," she said, surprising herself. "Sure."

Then he left. Just like that. No words, no eye contact. He simply left.

She was stupid. She was so very, completely, utterly stupid.

o

o

_**Snoopy**_

Ah, yes. The airport. Such a lovely place to go. What with the airplanes taking off roughly every five minutes, the millions of people hustled and bustled around all over the place. But that's not to mention their favorite rule: No Dogs.

But Joe Cool isn't a dog. And neither is the World War One Flying Ace. Of my many, many aliases, I must choose one for this adventure. I finally decide on the less attention-grabbing disguise of my dark bespectacled character, Joe Cool.

Woodstock, you have to get in my suitcase. He objects.

"_llll lllllllll ll llllll!_"

No, Woodstock, you _have_ to. I pick up the little bird and shove him into the side pocket of my suitcase. He squirms and fights to get out of there as I zip him in. Wonderful. Now I just have to get the tickets.

I walk—_very_ coolly, of course—up to the counter where the tickets are sold. A man in a light blue vest squints at me as I approach. He is bald with a very groggy five o'clock shadow look to him. He does not look happy.

"Hello, uh, _sir_," he greets me suspiciously. "How can I help you today?"

I am just about to say something extremely cool and professional, when Woodstock starts to squirm again. I cover the side pocket with my hand, smiling at the man. But Woodstock won't stay still.

Come on, bird, and quit squirming. I have to force my hand into the pocket. He flies out of the pocket and starts to flutter all around my head. Get back in there, bird! No birds at the airport! You're going to get us in trouble! As I chased Woodstock, I accidentally knocked off my glasses. Whoops. I picked them up quickly again, shoving them back onto my nose, but it was too late. The bald man already saw me.

"Hey! No dogs!" he shouted. As if I didn't know. "Security!"

So I did the only logical thing there was to do. I ran.

But the gigantic security guards were fast. And they didn't have heavy suitcases dragging behind them, and this thing's heavy, even with wheels on it. Just as I rounded the corner, I felt a hand clasp firmly around my arm. I gulped.

Rats.

o

o

_**Violet**_

"But _Mother_!"

It isn't fair. It's not fair. My idiot mother. She's being ridiculous. I can't believe this.

"Can't you just take the day _off_ on Saturday?" I beg. Mother says no. "But _Mother_!" No buts, she tells me. We're rescheduling the party for next weekend. The weekend of homecoming. The same night, actually. So it's an after-dance party.

Me and Patty sulk. This isn't fair. But I can't argue with Mother. She always wins. Aside from the fact that I now have to spread the word around before I have a million people show up at my house on Saturday, this can only possibly mean only one thing.

I have to find a date.

And I think I know exactly the man for the job.


	6. One Night

**AN: Sorry I haven't updated in a million years! But these next few chapters are about to get hectic and I just want to make sure everything's perfect for you guys! Besides that, a few things have come to my attention that I would like to point out. They aren't going to change the story at all, but just for a side note.**

**Firstly, I haven't been putting a disclaimer on my chapters! *slaps self* BAD ME. So here's the first one I've had, oops, hope I don't get sued or anything D: Of course, The Peanuts Characters do not belong to me, they are the property of the artistic genius Charles M. Schulz, without whom I would have no life.**

**Secondly, I've been reading up on my Peanuts history and I was surprised to discover that Sally and Linus are, in fact, five years apart, not two, like everyone says. I had no idea because I didn't pay attention to such detail, but I'm sure nobody will mind that Sally is a bit more mature now in these fics because, well, what fun are they if she isn't? Besides, I think Schulz essentially made her older anyways, as the comics progressed.**

**Anywho, I was originally going to break this chapter up into two separate parts (Chapter 6 part 1 and 2) because of all the detail it's got in it, but I changed my mind and instead just made them two different chapters. If you don't like it, well cry me a river. ;) Without further ado, I present to you Chapter Six, One Night. Enjoy!**

**xoxo ~ml**

**Chapter 6: One Night**

_**Violet**_

"I'm sorry, Violet; I've got a concert that night. I'll be at your party later on, but my concert doesn't end until 9."

Schroeder shrugs and I try not to scoff. It's after school, and we're standing at his locker. He gathers his books in his backpack and throws his coat over his shoulders. He slams the locker and starts to walk away.

"Wait!" I call after him. He stops in his tracks and slowly turns to face me. I close the gap between us and use my best seductive attitude to seal the deal.

"So if you'll be at my party..." I say slowly, daring to inch my face closer to his. He backs up a step, barely a movement, but I notice it. "...We can be dates there, then." I smile devilishly, teasing him, daring him to object. He backs up two more steps now, not nervously or anything ...just trying to get away from me. I watch him with all the curiosity I have. How can he not want what I've got to offer? He'd be so stupid to say no to all this.

"Sorry again, Violet," He says, ever so politely. Is he kidding me? What could his excuse possibly be this time? He can't resist this; he's probably itching for me inside. Well, his pants probably are, anyways. "I've already got a ...well ...a _date_ to your party." Who is it, your right hand? "It's Lucy." A stupid, ridiculous grin appears on his face. He actually looks _happy_ about going with that ditz.

I cannot be_lieve_ what I am hearing. "_Lucy_?" I cry, "_Lucy_ Van _Pelt_?" I don't believe it. I just don't believe it. I'm screaming down the nearly empty hallway, not caring who hears me, not caring who sees. "You're going to my party with _her_?" he just shrugs. "You know she isn't the least bit interested in you anymore, right? Just yesterday she was telling me how much she hates you, and how you _changed_ while you were gone. In a _bad_ way."

Okay. So what I tell him isn't _entirely_ the truth. But it isn't a lie either.

Regardless, my threats slide off his back like water off of a duck. He just smiles and walks away, calling, "See you next Saturday!"

Oh, he makes me SO mad. He makes me _furious_. I just want to deck him right in the nose!

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm in love.

o

o

_**Snoopy**_

Here's the World War One Flying Ace, saying ...I have successfully captured the enemy and am on my way to Florida!

It was easier than I could have hoped. Sure, the security guards were huge, but not so much could be said for their brains. They locked me and my little yellow bird friend in a teeny little cage and shut us into a dark room. Woodstock started fluttering about, shaking the cage and causing me to lose focus. Woodstock, please! I'm trying to concentrate here! He didn't listen to me, though, and continued to bash his tiny body against the bars of the cage. Just when I'd nearly swapped Woodstock with my paw, one last mad rush at the cage sent the little yellow bird slipping through the bars and tumbling out onto the floor. We both gave a yelp. He was out! He was small enough to slip right through the bars! This is it, I told him, All you have to do now is grab the keys off of that hook up there and bring them down to me! Hurry up now, or we'll miss our flight!

Woodstock gave me a little salute and fluttered up to the hook where the keys were. He brought them back down to me, and I snatched them out of his claws. I unlocked the cage with a mute _click_, and viola! I was free as a bird—literally!

Woodstock and I snuck out of the dark room and into the hallway, tiptoeing into an office with a secretary typing at a desk. Just past the desk was the entrance back into the lobby of the airport! Look, Woodstock! I whispered to him, pointing to the door, if we can just get back through there without the secretary seeing us, we're home free! Or, plane free, that is. I took Woodstock in between my paws so he wouldn't make any fluttering noises. I checked around the corners to make sure there was no one in sight.

Once the coast was clear, I made my move. The desk was pretty tall, tall enough to cover my head as I walked by. So, as soon as the secretary had her back turned, I just walked right past that desk and back out into the airport loading deck.

Come on, Woodstock, I said, releasing the bird and allowing him to land on my shoulder, We've got a plane to catch!

I scurried over to the entrance to flight 32B, Miami, Florida. There was that same bald guy again, taking people's tickets. Why was he everywhere? Why couldn't it have been someone, anyone else? I rolled my eyes and using my very best ninja skills, I slithered past the bald man, right underneath his nose, into the ramp that led to the plane! Airport security was most certainly not my weakness! As I entered, I pulled my shades out of the pocket of the jeans I still had on and slid them back on my face. I may have lost my luggage, but that's no discouragement for me! The flight attendants waved me on board and I grinned at them as I walk by. I settled myself into a seat and let Woodstock sit down next to me. They didn't even notice him on my shoulder! Hah!

I'm excited now. We're really on our way to Florida! Even without our luggage, this is going to be the best vacation ever!

o

o

**Saturday...**

_**Sally**_

One night. One night was all I needed to win over my sweet Baboo. I mean Linus. One night. And it was going to be tonight. Standing there in front of my mirror, fixing my light pink, fluffy dress for the gazillionth time, I just couldn't wait. It was homecoming. My very first homecoming. I was going to my very first homecoming dance with my very first love. I actually couldn't believe he'd let me go through with it. I thought he'd get my silly big brother to tell me that he didn't want to go. But he didn't. Well, okay, my big brother _did_ say something to me. But I have to admit, he didn't seem very concerned with the issue. He just told me that Linus wasn't comfortable with us going together. I just laughed and said he wasn't supposed to be comfortable. Then that was the end of the discussion.

The next thing I knew, there I was, waiting for my big brother to tell me it was time to go pick up our dates. He was bringing his _girlfriend_, Peppermint Patty. And we were going to go get Linus and then her. My big brother had just gotten his license and was scared stiff about picking everyone up. I told him to suck it up and deal with it, if he wanted to keep his girlfriend he was gonna have to drive. That shut him up, although I could tell he was still thinking about it when we got in the car. I sat in the backseat, so I could sit by Linus, and Peppermint Patty would hopefully sit up front with my brother.

At least, that's what I thought before Linus actually got in the car. Without hesitation he joined my brother in the front seat, and I tried not to be disappointed. Linus looked extremely adorable in his jet black suit and his pink shirt which matched my dress. He held in his hand a small box which undoubtedly held my corsage. When I saw that, I forced back a squeal of excitement. My own boutonniere that I had picked out for him was tucked safely inside my little black handbag, in a small white box.

"Hey, Linus," my big brother said shakily, backing down the driveway and nearly rear-ending a fire hydrant.

Linus said nothing. He didn't even look at me or my brother. I didn't want to make things worse, but of course, being me, I did anyways.

"Hi, Linus," I echoed, startling him a bit. I felt stupid, so I said what I thought would make things a bit less awkward: "You look so handsome."

Nope, it only made things even more awkward, if possible. My big brother accidentally ran a red light and Linus tensed up in his seat. I sighed. This wasn't going the way I'd hoped at all.

At least the awkwardness ended abruptly upon picking up Peppermint Patty, my big brother's girlfriend. We pulled up to her house where she stood waiting for us outside.

Peppermint Patty looked stunning. It was really weird; actually, considering this was the tomboy girl who never wore anything far from the range of t-shirts and shorts with dirty sneakers. But tonight she had on a beautiful floor-length dress (no doubt to cover up her bruised legs from sports) which was almost the exact color of her eyes. Her hair was curled and pulled back to one side, hair-sprayed in place and not a strand out of line. I almost congratulated my big brother. Who knew she of all people could pull that off?

She got in the car uncomfortably, with a look of disappointment upon discovering Linus had jacked her seat. Nonetheless, Peppermint Patty immediately strung up a conversation with my big brother, not hesitating to try and include me and Linus in it, either. She was either overly excited or nervous—or both, for that matter—for her mouth was running faster than Snoopy's at Suppertime. I nodded and smiled at her little conversation starters, while Linus remained silent and still as a rock.

It took us about twenty minutes to get to the high school gym. We probably could've gotten there much sooner, had my silly big brother known how to drive a little better. We all stood up out of the car and stretched our legs, me and Peppermint Patty especially.

"I don't know _how_ you girls do it," she complained, rubbing her feet with her hand, "I can barely move in these things, I wouldn't be able to walk three steps in those heels." She luckily had on a pair of silver flats, which she claimed to have borrowed from her older sister, along with the dress. She had no handbag, but instead busied her hands by twisting them in her hair.

My big brother made his way over to her and awkwardly clasped his hand around hers as we all walked inside. Linus stayed as far away from me as possible, leading the way, followed by my brother and Peppermint Patty, then finally me. We looked like complete idiots showing up to the dance fifteen minutes late, but what's formality without being fashionably late, anyways?

Linus handed the ticket person two tickets for him and I, and we both made for the door.

However, we both stepped into the door at the same time, and ended up bumping into each other. Linus's face turned beet red and he looked down at his shiny black shoes.

"Er, you go ahead," he mumbled. I smiled at this kind—if not somewhat awkward—gesture and preceded him into the gym.

The gymnasium had been set up formally with streamers, balloons, overhangs, and everything you could think of for a party-like setting. As soon as I thought "party", a shudder rippled through my spine and goosebumps popped up all over my skin. Violet's party was tonight. If Linus didn't ignore me all night during the dance, he was sure enough to leave me alone once the party began. More of his friends would be at Violet's than at the actual homecoming dance itself.

Linus and I stood in the doorway for a few moments, waiting for my slow brother and Peppermint Patty to hand in their tickets and follow us inside. Linus kept his head turned to the floor and his cheeks were still a bit pink. Thankfully, my brother and his girlfriend caught up to us and we started for a table near the cafeteria, which was attached to the gym by a single, narrow hallway. We made for a table in the very back corner, where we spotted two of our good friends, Marcie and Franklin, sitting and talking quietly.

"Hey, Marce!" Peppermint Patty said loudly, sitting herself down at the table. "I see you guys already did that silly flower stuff and everything." Marcie nodded and looked down at hers and Franklin's identical flowers, hers around her wrist and his pinned to his suit coat.

Peppermint Patty looked at my big brother. "Do you have the flowers, Chuck?" she asked him. His face turned as red as Linus's and he gulped. I just knew my big brother would mess _something_ up.

As Peppermint Patty scolded him—quite loudly, might I add—for forgetting her corsage, I eyed Linus curiously from across the table. He was turning the box with my corsage in it over and over in his hands, as if trying to make it disappear altogether. I smiled halfheartedly. Looks like I'd be doing most of the talking between the two of us tonight.

"You wanna do the flowers now, then, Linus?" I asked gently. When he heard his name, he jolted out of his little trance. _Maybe_, I thought as we both stood up and I pulled his boutonniere out of my handbag, _he's only acting like this because he doesn't have his security blanket with him!_ I had forgotten to search for it on him before. I eyed him carefully now, and sure enough, there was not a single thread of blue to be seen. As a matter of fact, Linus was more pink than any other color. His face and his shirt blended in perfectly, causing me to smile a bit.

The mini flower "ceremony" was less than forgiving, he shakily slipped the corsage around my wrist and I nearly poked him in the chest upon my attempt to pin his boutonniere there. The difference between us was much different from how it used to be when we were kids. He hit a growth spurt around thirteen, and he was at least a head or so taller than me. I felt his eyes on me as I carefully clasped the pin.

"There," I whispered when I'd finished. But I didn't back up an inch from him. Something about the way his deep brown eyes were watching me made me never want to leave his side. For a split second, we stood there like that, staring into each others' eyes. It was the most wonderful moment in the world, a giddy feeling.

Then it was over. Just like that. He blinked and looked away, sticking his hands in his pockets and turning his head to the ground again.

I could just tell this was going to be a long night.

o

o

_**Charlie Brown**_

"_I'm not very handsome or clever or lucid. I've always been stupid at spelling and numbers. I've never been much playing football or baseball or stickball or checkers or marbles or ping pong …I'm usually awful at parties and dances. I stand like a stick or I cough or I laugh or I don't bring a present or I spill the ice cream or I get so depressed that I stand and I scream … Oh how could there possibly be one small person as totally, utterly, thoroughly blah as me?"_

I can't tell you how nervous I am. I honestly can't. I absolutely hate homecoming dances. I always mess something up. I spill the punch, I knock someone over, I get in the background of someone's photo, or I wear the wrong tie. There are a million possibilities. Luckily I didn't have the tie problem today. Linus and I both agreed on no ties and colored shirts. It took a miracle to get me to actually wear the right shade of green. I had to match Peppermint Patty's dress. I didn't know that, I've never had a date before. I also didn't know that I was supposed to remember the matching flowers that my mom had bought for us.

I just know tonight isn't going to go well. But surprisingly there's one bright side to the beginning of the night. Peppermint Patty looks amazing. She's got this long, green dress that goes down to the floor, all flow-y and really pretty. Her chestnut brown hair is all curly and falls over her shoulder like I've never seen her hair do before. I can't stop looking at her. Until she gives me this dumb look, that is. Then I look away before she slugs me or something.

As soon as we come inside, we join Marcie and Franklin sitting at a table in the cafeteria. Who would have thought Peppermint Patty would be the one girl out of the three of them (my sister was there, too) that reminded me about her corsage, the one I forgot?

"You _WHAT_?" she belts at me, when my response (or lack thereof) to her question of where the matching flowers were less than satisfactory. She rolls her eyes at me and I want to disappear. She is yelling and people are staring at us. "I can't _BELIEVE_ you _FORGOT_! You blockhead, I can't trust you to do anything right!"

I wish I could melt. I just want to disappear; I want to get back in my car and drive back home. But I can't. I'm responsible for not only myself, but for Sally, too. Peppermint Patty finally calms down a little bit but she still won't talk to me.

"Come on, Marcie," she says, grabbing her best friend's hand and dragging her off to the dance floor. Marcie waves to Franklin as she's yanked out to the dance floor, and I'm left alone at the table with him. Linus and Sally stand nearby, just sorta just staring at each other. It's kind of awkward. I sort of shudder at the sight of my sister and my best friend. It's just kind of weird seeing them here at the homecoming dance as _dates_. Then again, what _isn't_ weird anymore? All of a sudden, I guess Linus snaps out of it and he scuttles back to the table with his hands in his pockets and sits down next to me. I catch Sally's eye and I think I see a hint of disappointment. She twirls around and with a flash of pink, my sister is gone.

Linus starts to tremble in the seat next to me. "What the _heck_ just happened, Charlie Brown?" he asks me, bewildered.

"I couldn't tell you if I wanted to, Linus," I reply, staring towards the dance floor where I think I see a splash of Peppermint Patty's perfect green dress in the crowd.

o

o

_**Lucy**_

The dark blue dress had been hanging in her closet for days prior to the date. As the night inched closer, she remained the same in school, on the days that she actually went: silent, unfocused and disconnected. Nighttime was like a switch in her brain. Once the sun went down and she was no longer distracted by school or family atmosphere, she turned into a crazy person. With the rock music blasting through ear buds into her head, she'd lay on her back in bed for hours at a time, just laying there. Sometimes she'd sleep. Sometimes she'd scream into her pillow until her throat felt like it was on fire. But mostly the tears just fell, hot and sugary on her cheeks, leaving little splotches on her pillow. She didn't even know why she was so upset. She was getting everything she wanted, essentially. She was going to Violet's party with the boy everyone wanted. Even though for one, she hated him, and two, Schroeder hadn't said a word to her ever since he'd caught her smoking after school. Fortunately, too, she hadn't even looked at a cigarette since. She wasn't prepared to go through what she'd gone through the first (and second) time.

And still, the signs hung up all over school: a constant reminder of the important decision she was about to make. She bought a ticket, just in case, because she didn't want to change her mind at the last second. The blue dress was also a reminder, and a painful one at that. It reminded her of the one she used to wear as a little kid; when things were so much easier and more carefree.

On the morning of the dance, she made her decision. She wasn't going. She didn't see the point if _he_ wasn't going to be there. She would just go to Vi's party afterwards.

It was about an hour until the dance, and she'd been avoiding everyone all day. Linus was walking around the house like a ghost; he was either nervous or scared, or most likely both. He tried on his outfit several billion times to make sure it was "just right". Lucy just kept rolling her eyes and telling him he looked ridiculous, even though he really didn't. She had to admit she was a little bit jealous that her little brother had more of a life than she did. At least _he_ had a date.

Speaking of Linus's date, she got a phone call about an hour before Linus left. She doesn't know why she answered, but she did for some reason. It was Sally. She could tell she was shaking and possibly crying.

"Lucy?" she whimpered.

"Yeah?"

There was a long pause on the other line, then a sigh.

"You know what, I'm stupid, I don't know why I even called you. Forget it," Sally said, going to hang up the phone. But Lucy was intrigued.

"You can talk to me, Sally. Aren't you getting ready for the dance?"

"Yes," she moaned, "but I'm having a mid life crisis! Linus didn't even _want_ to go with me! The only reason he's going is because I forced him! What if he ditches me? What if he doesn't talk to me all night? What if he wants nothing to do with me? Oh, Lucy, what if my sweet Baboo doesn't even _like_ me?"

Sally's sigh of exasperation muffled the phone and Lucy rolled her eyes. That was Sally for you. Always making life a huge show of drama.

"Alright, Sally, listen up," Lucy reprimanded her friend. "I'll have you know that my blockhead brother has been getting ready to go to the dance with you all week! I'd say he actually wants to go. He's not going to leave you there because he doesn't have any friends to leave you for! He's gonna talk to you and probably even dance with you. You're gonna go to that dance and you're gonna have a great time." She paused, thought a moment, and winced: "And I guess I'll be there, too, to make sure everything goes alright."

Sally gasped. "He's really been getting ready all this time? He's looking forward to it? He actually _wants_ to go with me! He likes me! Oh, thank you Lucy! Thank you thank you thank you!" she hung up the phone before Lucy could say anything.

A disgusted look spread across her face. _What the hell did I just agree to_? She asked herself, standing up off of her bed and glancing at the time. _It's 6:15, just enough time for me to get ready and be at school before 7:30. Who cares if it's a half an hour late? I'm going for Sally. I'm going for_ Sally.

But she couldn't help feeling, as she jumped in the shower that a tiny little speck of her mind wanted to see him there. Even though she knew full well he wouldn't be going, still she clung to the flimsy string of hope that his concert would be canceled or he would show up afterward, or some other crazy excuse like that so she could be with him there.

Even though she was so over him. She hated his guts. After all, he was the one who broke her heart two summers ago. Sure, maybe she had been overreacting, just a little, but what he'd said really hurt. It was funny because every other time he'd said something insulting to her, she'd just smile, laugh, or ignore it. Because she thought he was kidding or being flirtatious. But nothing had ever been clearer to her than his denial of her right at that moment. Right at that moment when he'd said it...

_"...Can you believe it? A whole year away from you!" The flashback Schroeder stood up suddenly, pumping his fist in the air and doing a little dance. The flashback Lucy just sat there, watching; blinking._

_"No more talk of marriage and weddings or anything stupid like that! Just me and a memory of the greatest musician who ever lived!" He continued to dance around the room._

_"But Schroeder," Lucy said, standing up and facing him. He didn't stop moving all around, swirling like a giddy little girl. "I already think you're the best musician who's ever lived." She had been hurt by his comment, but no, he was kidding right? He would come back to his senses in a moment, he would!_

_But Schroeder paused for a moment, looked at her, and laughed out loud. "Do you even know anything about Beethoven? I'm nowhere near as brilliant! But of course, you wouldn't know, you're just a silly girl who doesn't care about anything but your stupid marriage." he said marriage the same way someone would say dog poop._

_This time, Lucy was extremely taken aback. Now she knew. She stomped her foot and huffed. "Well if that's how you really feel," she shouted, causing him to start and turn to face her. He had not been expecting this. "I hope your plane crashes into the Pacific Ocean!" She huffed again and twirled towards the door, stomping out of the room._

_"We aren't even flying over the Pacific Ocean!" he called back at her. "Shows how much you know!" but she left him to his talk about his trip, giving him exactly what he thought he wanted—to be away from her._

She shook her head. No. She wouldn't let this memory ruin a potentially fun night.

Even if she wouldn't be seeing Schroeder until after the dance. As her date. At Violet's party. After not talking to him for over a year. After he'd broken her heart. _Rats._

The next thing she knew, she was clop, clip, clopping in her high heels through the doors to the gymnasium, handing in her ticket and smoothing down her blue dress, patting down her jet black hair (which she'd barely had time to curl), and skirting around the edges of the dance floor, searching for Charlie Brown's little sister in her bright pink dress.

But she didn't get very far before Violet, Frieda and Patty intercepted her. Judging by the looks on each one of their faces, this confrontation was not going to end well.

**Sorry if this chapter seemed a bit boring…It SHALL get better next chapter, and I promise chapter 7 will be out in the next two days! Remember to r&r, thanks! :)**


	7. You and Me

**A/N: Did I mention that by "next two days," I really meant "next week,"? Sorry for keeping you all waiting! x:**

**Here are the homecoming outfits for the main people, just in case you needed an idea. Just remove the brackets [] :D**

**Peppermint Patty: www[.]frenchnovelty[.]com/mm5/graphics/S12-SH-1456_02[.]jpg**

**Charlie Brown and Linus: (They have black suit coats over the colored shirts and no ties)**

**L: www[.] myshirtshop[.]co[.]uk/lg_images/Pastel_Pink_Italian_Shirt%5B6%5D[.]jpg**

**CB: shop[.]nordstrom[.]com/s/tommy-bahama-beachy-breezer-linen-sport-shirt/3221857?id=15001026&largeImg=0&tn=largerview_popup&tname=product (the green one)**

**Sally: www[.]donhot[.]com/Pic/201201/Halter-Party-Dress-2012-prom-dress_1610282876656[.]jpg**

**Lucy: 1stpromdress[.]com/products/big/189/20110923202014[.]jpg**

**Marcie: www[.]honeybuy[.]com/image/Strapless_Taffeta_Short_Formal_Orange_Bridesmaid_Dress_2012_175339712781317_690X500[.]jpg**

**Franklin: www[.]menscosmo[.]com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Orange-Neckties-for-men[.]jpg**

**I would also like to apologize in advance for the lack of Snoopy in this chapter... He will show up next chapter, but I couldn't find anywhere to put him here. :x enjoy anyways, and I still don't own Peanuts! :)**

**Chapter 7: You and Me**

_**Peppermint Patty**_

That old Chuck. He sure is something else. He drives me crazy. In more ways than one. It's homecoming night. There are about three things a guy needs to remember for that night, and only one of them doesn't have to do with getting dressed in the morning. And yet, it's Chuck. I don't know what I expected to happen. He forgot the stinking flowers! Not that that sort of stuff is important, anyways. That's sissy stuff, really. But still. It's the thought that counts.

I don't know why I was so mad. Well, really I _wasn't_ mad, but I acted like I was. But I don't know why, really. I wasn't Nervous or anything, I swear I wasn't. I never get nervous. I mean, this wasn't one of those 'ten-on at the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded with two outs, one strike to go' type things. This was just a sissy _dance._

So I end up storming off on my date. I don't really know why I made such a big deal out of it. SO I pulled Marcie away from the table and we went out to the floor to dance. I guess we did the hustle or something. I don't know, it's some dance that people do for fun or something. Marcie taught me how to do it. It's really pretty easy. And I'm awesome at it, if I don't say so myself.

Out of nowhere, Chuck shows up and he starts mumbling this stupid apology. Guess he didn't realize I was only kidding with him. That Chuck. He's so naive sometimes. So I shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

"Don't worry about it, Chuck," I said, "I wasn't really mad atchya anyways. We don't need dumb old flowers. I mean, we can dance without 'em, can't we?" I clapped him on the back a little too hard and he stumbled forward. I laughed. Good ol' Chuck. He had to make a scene out of everything.

The song ended and Marcie wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "Whew," she said, "Nice dancing, sir. I'd better go find Franklin though; he's probably looking for me."

I nodded. "Sure thing, Marce, thanks for showing me how to do this crazy dance! And don't call me sir!" But she had already ran away to find her date so she didn't hear the last part.

A new song came on-an upbeat one. Everyone started doing a bunch of dance moves simultaneously. Chuck and I glanced at each other. We tried to dance like we knew what we were doing, but everyone gave us funny looks and kept bumping into us. But it was lots of fun anyways. It was just me and Chuck dancing across from each other, and even though he was looking at his feet for pretty much the entire song, I was having a really good time.

_**Charlie Brown**_

I'm shaking so hard, I don't know what to do. Peppermint Patty's gonna slug me. I just know she is. I look around the dance floor. There are people everywhere, and I keep getting bumped and shoved aside. I even got knocked down once, but I stood back up in the blink of an eye. You learn how to do that when you get pushed down almost every day, and after falling on the ground when Lucy pulls the ball away from you. Getting up slowly shows vulnerability. Even though I can't avoid that most of the time, I try my best not to screw up even worse than I already have.

I finally spot that bright green dress and I head towards my girlfriend on the dance floor. She's dancing with Marcie-and everyone else. They're all in unison, doing the same moves at the same time. I scrunch my eyebrows and wonder, _What the heck are they doing?_

Peppermint Patty turns to face me as I approach. I take a deep breath and prepare for the worst. "I'm really sorry for forgetting the flowers. I'm the worst person ever. I shouldn't be trusted. I can understand if you want to break up with me."

She doesn't even blink. She actually laughs a little bit. "What? Chuck, are you kidding me? Those flowers don't matter to me! I don't even know why I was so mad about them in the first place! Besides, we're here to have fun, remember? We don't need stupid flowers to dance! Come on, let's dance!"

As she says this, the song ends and a new, faster one comes on.

I shake my head. "Uh, I don't think so Marcie," I say, twiddling my fingers nervously. "I'm not really that good of a dancer."

"C'mon, Chuck!" she says, laughing a bit. "You gotta be some kinda dancer, you don't have two left feet or anything! Well, okay, maybe you do. But give it a try at least!"

Marcie starts jumping up and down. "Oooh, I _love_ the Turbo Hustle! I'm gonna go find Franklin, maybe he'll want to do it with me! See ya later sir, and Charles!"

"Don't call me sir!" she calls after her. My girlfriend and I look at each other for a moment. She laughs.

"Do you have any idea how to do this dance, Chuck?" She asks, raising an eyebrow at me. Her green eyes pierce mine.

I shake my head slowly. "Uh..." I stutter nervously. Would she slug me if I didn't know? "No...I don't. I'm sorry..."

She laughs. "Chuck, you crack me up. Why should you be sorry about not being able to do some stupid dance? Come on, let's try it out anyways. You only live once!"

She starts dancing to the music like there's a bee in her hair. She's throwing herself all over the place, not caring who sees or what happens.

"C'mon, Chuck!" she said, taking both of my hands in hers and twisting me back and forth. I smile, ever so lightly and start to twist with her. For once in my life, I let myself go, if only for a moment. I can't help myself. I feel so comfortable here and now, with _my_ best friend, _my girlfriend_. This is the Peppermint Patty I know. This Peppermint Patty is crazy, zany, competitive, and doesn't care what other people think about her. She's self conscious but I know she's beautiful. The way she just moves like that ...like nobody can see her and she's just going crazy with the music ...it makes me smile bigger than ever before. Nothing could possibly ruin this moment, right here and now. I am dancing with the most amazing girl. So what, if she doesn't have red hair. She's perfect. And I think I might just love her.

If only I could come up with the courage to tell her.

_**Linus**_

I've never been much for attending dances. In fact, I've never been much for attending anything. Yet here I was, dressed in this silly suit with a silly pink shirt on, with a silly pink flower pinned on my collar to boot. Sally had run off with her friends as Charlie Brown, Franklin and I all sat at a table together in the cafeteria, not moving an inch towards our respected dates. That is, except for Franklin. He and Marcie sure seemed to hit it off. But when his date was dragged away from us he became a bit hyper and jittery.

"I'll be right back, I have to use the restroom," he said quickly. He zoomed out of his seat across from us, leaving behind only the faint scent of cologne.

"I suppose I should find Peppermint Patty and apologize to her," Charlie Brown mumbled, picking his head up off of his arms. "But what if she wants to dance with me? I'm no good at dancing. I'm no good at anything."

I turned to face him. "Well, Charlie Brown, it's now or never, you know. You might be a fast learner. But you'll never know until you give it a try."

He shrugged. "I guess you're right, Linus, as usual." he stood up and made his way onto the dance floor, dodging people left and right towards his girlfriend. I was left alone at the table. I sighed. Charlie Brown was a pretty lucky guy, when I thought about it. He had a girlfriend, at least. I was far too shy around any girl to even gather the courage to talk to them! Sally had to ask me to the dance, even if it was forcibly. I blinked as I remembered. Sally. I gazed across the room and spotted her, laughing at something with her friend Eudora near the refreshments.

I watched her for a few minutes. She really was captivating, when the light hit her just that way ...her dress was short, pink, and silky; her long blonde hair looked shiny and soft to the touch. I got the strangest urge to just run my hands through it, twist the strands around my fingers like my security blanket. My hand flew to the pocket of my pants. The blanket's warm, soft fabric caressed my fingers and relaxed me a bit. I had promised myself I wouldn't be seen with it here, so I tried my best to keep it concealed.

What was I saying? This is _Sally Brown_ ...This is the girl who has always followed me around as a child. She's always annoyed me and bothered me and, worst of all, called me by that silly nickname, "Sweet Baboo". I shuddered at the thought. Come to think of it, she hadn't called me that in a while. Well, not really. She'd slipped up once or twice, but I tried my best to ignore it since she _was_ getting better and more mature as time progressed. And it wasn't just in her actions, either. Her features had filled out so nicely, too. It was almost sexy in a way. Whoa, wait a minute ...I would try and remember to slap myself for saying that later.

I pulled my hand out of my pocket and glanced over to the dance floor. I caught a glimpse of Peppermint Patty and Charlie Brown dancing like crazy in the middle of the dance floor. I smiled to myself and turned back towards Sally. Her eyes were on me, and I felt my face growing hot, but it was too late to look away. She glanced questioningly at Eudora and handed her friend her drink. Then she made straight for me. I silently wished she would just turn back around and go and laugh with Eudora some more so I could watch her and admire her from afar again ...but she kept walking right towards me. Her bright blue eyes locked with mine and I gulped. She had the most intoxicating eyes I'd ever seen.

They were questioning, wondering why I was staring. She finally reached the table. She stood there in front of me, looking absolutely perfect. She smiled just a little out of the corner of her mouth. The upbeat pop song ended and there was silence for a split second, until the next song started up, slow and alluring, accenting her before me and sending swirly colors dancing around in my head.

Wait, what?

_What day is it? And in what month? This clock never seemed so alive... _

"Wanna dance, Linus?" she asked so quietly, it was almost a whisper, taking my hands from in my lap and pulling me into a standing position. I couldn't do anything else but nod as we made our way to the dance floor, her hand grasping mine in a tight grip, the only thing connecting me to the earth as everyone around us spun in dizzy circles.

_I can't keep up, and I can't back down; I've been losing so much time... _

When we reached the center of the dance floor she took my hands in hers and placed them gently on her waist, and rested her hands on my shoulders.

_Cause it's you and me, and all of the people; with nothing to do, nothing to lose... _

We started to sway back and forth, and our eyes locked again. I hadn't looked away from her since she'd asked me to dance. I _couldn't_ look away. Her eyes sparkled in the dim light and her lips, pink and lush, curled into a tiny smile.

_And it's you and me, and all of the people; and I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you... _

I inched slowly closer, tightening my arms around her slim waist. Her arms wrapped around my neck and didn't move from there. We were so close; our noses were almost touching. I could see every twinkle in her eye and feel her soft breath on my face.

_All of the things, that I want to say just aren't coming out right... _

The whole room became dizzy and faint; the rest of the dancing people faded from my view.

_I'm tripping on words, you got my head spinning; I don't know where to go from here... _

All I saw—all I knew—was Sally Brown. I was with her and next to her and I was her.

_Cause it's you and me, and all of the people; with nothing to do, nothing to prove. And it's you and me, and all of the people; and I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you... _

She finally broke the eye contact by putting her head on my shoulder.

_Something about you now, I can't quite figure out. Everything she does is beautiful. Everything she does is right... _

I reached up and touched her head, her soft blonde hair. I had been right, it was silky smooth. I tangled my fingers in it and it was softer than my security blanket. _If I could have just this for the rest of my life, I'd never need that old blanket again!_ I thought to myself numbly.

_Cause it's you and me, and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to lose. And_ _it's you and me, and all of the people and I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of... _

She lifted her head for a moment to look at me again. I absolutely could not get enough of those eyes. I took in as much of her as I could—her eyes, her hair, her dress—the feel of her arms around my neck; the feel of her skin on mine. It was intoxicating.

_You and me, and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to prove. And it's you and me, and all of the people and I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you... _

I felt myself slipping away, slipping into a trance. Only those eyes—those beautiful, sparkling eyes—held me down to the earth.

_What day is it? And in what month? This clock never seemed so alive. _

The song slowed to an end and we stood still for a moment as everyone dispersed around us. Neither of us moved as another upbeat song came on and people started jumping around, screaming and laughing; the mood was gone.

But Sally smiled and touched my cheek with one hand. It was barely a caress, but it felt good.

"Thank you for the dance, Sweet Baboo," she whispered, right into my ear. Her soft lips touched my cheek only very, very lightly. Her mouth lingered next to mine for a moment. I knew I should've made a move to kiss her, I just knew I should've. But I didn't. Instead, I panicked. I've never been in a situation like that before. I didn't know _what_ to do. So I did the first thing that came to my mind.

I left. I tore myself away from Sally, ripped my gaze from her eyes and I left. I just ran out the door. I felt the eyes on my back as I started to run away, but I couldn't stop. I couldn't go back there, especially not now, with Sally wondering what the heck had gotten into me. I thought I heard her call after me, but I couldn't be too sure. All I knew was that I had to get out of there; I had to be alone. I stopped at the stairs up to the main entrance of the school. All the lights in the school were out and I sat down on the first step, catching my breath. I reached into my pocket, pulled out the security "blanket" (which was actually only a little sliver of cloth by now) and pressed it against my cheek. I twiddled it between my fingers and sighed. It just wasn't the same as that soft blonde hair that I'd tangled my fingers in only moments before.

Then I realized how stupid I was. Why did I just leave? Why did I chicken out? Why did I embarrass her and myself like that? Why didn't I _kiss_ her, for goodness sakes?

I could still feel her hands on my neck, her waist in my arms, and her lips on my cheek. The memory of her touch left me drunk and dizzy, like a hangover. I couldn't get Sally out of my head now. Not that it was any easier for me before we'd danced. But it was futile. I was only dancing with her to humor her, right? I only agreed to go with her to this dance to humor her, right? There was no self pleasure in this at all. Right? She'd even called me her Sweet Baboo again. How I hated that stupid nickname. Though it was funny, now that I thought about it, I really hadn't minded her calling me that at all. I had actually kind of liked it. Rats. Why did I do that stupid thing? How stupid was I? If I had a nickel for everything I'd said and done to screw tonight up, I'd have enough money to take the midnight train to New York and never come back.

o

o

_**Lucy**_

"Well if it isn't Mrs. Beethoven Freak herself," Violet sneered. Frieda patted her hair and Patty stuck out her nose.

Lucy's eyebrows scrunched together at the sight of her friends reprimanding her. All three of them wore matching styled dresses, exactly identical except for the colors. Frieda's was a bright scarlet red, Patty's was a dazzling yellow, and Violet's was, well, violet. The trio stood blocking Lucy's path, with their hands on their hips.

Violet took a threatening step forward. "What are you plotting, Lucy?" She asked with a sneer, pointing a manicured finger in Lucy's face.

"Yeah," Patty chimed, following the other girl's movements forward. "We just _know_ you're up to something."

Frieda patted her hair again nervously. The naturally curly-haired girl was less reprimanding than the other two girls, but her words still had an effect. "Lucy," she said slowly, "You told us you weren't interested in Schroeder anymore. You said he broke your heart and you hated him...but now you're going with him to Vi's party...so..."

"Who'd you lie to, us or him?" Patty snapped.

"Or," mused Violet devilishly, "did you just tell us that he's a bad guy because you wanted us to stay away from him?" The other girls nodded accusingly and Lucy backed up a step.

"What are you talking about?" Lucy asked them.

Violet sneered again. "Don't play dumb, Lucy, we can see through your entire ploy. You knew Schroeder had gotten hotter over his trip and you wanted him all to yourself, so you just made up some stupid story about how he 'broke your heart' so we would think he was this terrible guy and not want to go after him. Now you just jump in as soon as we back off..." She grinned evilly. "I have to admit, you're clever, Lucy. You did have me fooled, if only for a moment."

Lucy just stared at her. "Vi, I didn't want to go to your party with him. I _had_ to. We made a ...a deal. Besides, I can't help it if _he_ asked _me_. It just sort of happened."

The three girls squinted at her. Violet got very close to her face and nearly pressed their noses together. A small crowd was beginning to notice the confrontation and was standing around, pretending not to be watching.

"Look see, Little Miss Perfect," Violet hissed. "You can't always have everything you want. You had your chance with him and you blew it. The only reason he asked you was so he could sleep at night, knowing you'd slug him if he didn't. You had your chance, and now it's mine. I'd ban you from my party but then he might not even bother showing up... It's more fun to humiliate you in public, anyways. By the end of the night, Schroeder will. Be. Mine." She shrugged. "And there's nothing you can do about it."

She smiled and turned on her heel, prepared to leave with her posse following her. There were about fifteen or so people gathered around, whispering and watching the scene with growing interest. They began to disperse when they saw that Violet had made her point. But Lucy Van Pelt wasn't one to walk away from a fight, and she knew it. Lucy stormed after Violet, grabbing her by the shoulders and whirling her back around to face her.

"No, you listen to me, Violet Gray." Lucy jabbed her finger in Violet's face and the latter stepped back, surprised. "Need I remind you that _I'm_ the one who he asked to be his date. Not you. And from what I've heard, he's even rejected you _to_ _your_ _face_. I think we both know who's gonna win this fight. And there's nothing _you_ can do about _that_."

Violet huffed and smoothed her dress nervously. The whole crowd of people and even her friends knew that Lucy was right. Schroeder didn't really care for Violet. Then again, who _did_? She wasn't exactly a walk in the park to begin with, but once she had her mind set on something, it was quite difficult to discourage her. But she scrunched up her nose snobbishly and put her hands on her hips again.

"Fine," she said finally, twirling back around and this time, leaving with her posse for good.

"_Fine_," Lucy muttered to herself, clopping her heel on the gymnasium floor. The little crowd stared at her for a moment. She glanced up at them. "Well what are you all looking at?" The people immediately vanished, becoming one jumbled mess of people once again.

Lucy sighed and continued her search for Sally. While she searched, she thought. She didn't want to lose her friends over a guy. Especially since this was a guy she didn't even _like_. She didn't want to fight Violet. But she didn't want things to remain awkward between her and Schroeder, either. Sure, things were never exactly perfect between them, but it felt good to finally smooth things out. Like putting ice on a sore that's been burning for ages. It felt cooling. As much as she hated herself for it, this new semi-relationship she had with her would-be unrequited love felt exciting. When she looked at him at school (this was a rare occurrence) she felt those old school girl butterflies rise up in her stomach and she had to look away. It made her sick. But at the same time, she craved something more. Something like what she'd always craved nearly her whole life, but on a softer level. Something that she wanted to share with him more than anything in the world. She wanted a love that was real. So many years she'd spent chasing and pining, only to end up empty-handed. She had always felt he was the one for her, but he'd never felt the same. She never knew what it was like to be wanted; to be loved. Now, whenever she looked at Schroeder, she could see that same little piano-playing boy that she once knew and loved, but she also saw something new. A certain maturity that had grown inside him in the past few years, transforming him into a strong knight in shining armor. A knight that wanted her, too. He wanted her. He had at least wanted her to be his date to the party. But was what Violet had said true? Did Schroeder only ask Lucy because he felt threatened? Or did he truly wish for her presence that night?

Lucy finally spotted the bright pink silk of Sally's dress out on the dance floor. She headed towards her, and then stopped once she saw what was happening. A slow, romantic song was playing. Sally Brown, little, obsessive, jumbly Sally Brown was wrapped up in the arms of Lucy's own little brother, Linus. They were slowly swaying to the music and by the expression on Sally's face (Linus's back was to her) Lucy could tell that she would not want this moment ruined. She watched her little brother and Sally for a few more moments. Sally lowered her head to rest it on Linus's shoulder and he brought his hand up and smoothed her hair gently, lovingly. Lucy felt another pang of jealousy towards Sally. That was exactly the kind of relationship she wanted. The kind that two people like Sally and Linus had; a relationship where she could look into his eyes and instantly know that everything was going to be alright. She wouldn't even have to worry about being thrown off his piano all the time in a relationship like that. She wouldn't have to worry about anything. Just the two of them, together.

But she couldn't have that. Not with Schroeder. She still hated him for breaking her heart. She hated him. Didn't she?


	8. A Snoopy Intervention

**AN: Alright, this chapter... my heart definitely wasn't in it. So sorry if it sucks like a vacuum. No fireworks, please.**

**Chapter 8: A Snoopy Intervention**

When I said the best vacation ever, I really meant it. But you probably wouldn't know, right? Well, I might as well tell you. Here's the story of Woodstock and my vacation to Florida...

We stepped off the plane at precisely 0900 hours. Well okay, Woodstock didn't exactly step, he sort of fluttered. The people in Miami were much kinder than those back home. They watched us get off the plane with these huge smiles on their faces, allowing us to exit the terminal and step out into the bright, Florida air. It felt awesome, breathing in that fresh ocean scent. A light breeze brushed my fur and lifted Woodstock's feathers. We exchanged a huge grin. We couldn't wait to get down to the beach to swim and what else. We raced each other down to the shore, which wasn't as far away as we'd thought. The best part about it was, nobody even looked twice at us! They all seemed to be perfectly okay with the fact that there was a dog and a bird chasing each other down the street towards the beach. I knew from that moment on that I was going to love it here.

As soon as we reached the beach, Woodstock and I jumped face-first into the sand. This is great! I exclaimed, rolling around in the hot sand.

_"lll lllllll llll ll lllll!"_ Woodstock replied, spraying sand everywhere with a flick of his wings. We didn't have any of our things, since our luggage had all been confiscated at the airport back home. We couldn't put on any sunscreen, for this reason, so we just shrugged to ourselves and forgot about it. We ran down to the shore, testing the water with our paws and feathers. It was just the right temperature for swimming: not too hot and not too cold! We played for a while in the water, splashing around, playing Marco-Polo and just enjoying the sun. It was early October and yet it was at least a good eighty degrees at the beach. If this is what it's always like in Florida, I told Woodstock, I'd like to live here forever!

_"lll llll ll llll!"_ Woodstock agreed.

Just then, a high-pitched whistle sounded and we both jumped. I whirled around to find the source of the sound. As my eyes watched the beach, a pair of beady black eyes stared right back at me! The eyes belonged to a short, hairy man in a bright red bathing suit. His entire body was covered in thick, gristly hairs, all excluding the top of his head, which was completely bald. His little eyes squinted at me and I gulped. This was no ordinary hairy man! The lifeguard was standing on his lifeguard chair all high in the air, pointing straight at me and holding a whistle in his mouth!

"Hey you!" he shouted, blowing the whistle once again. Some of the beach-goers turned to face him, wondering what all the commotion was about. Woodstock and I were wondering the same thing, actually, considering the fact that we'd done absolutely nothing wrong at all. We were simply playing in the water and the lifeguard had a problem with us already!

I couldn't help but laugh at him. He looked so silly up there on top of that chair with his bright red shorts on. His face, under all the hair, was almost the same color as his shorts. Woodstock and I keeled over laughing. The lifeguard fumed. He blew his whistle again.

"HEY!" he shouted to the few people on the beach, "Whose dog is that out there?" The people looked around curiously, shrugging their shoulders and accusing each other. The lifeguard, not receiving the response he wanted, groaned and started to climb down off of the lifeguard chair.

Uh oh, Woodstock, I said to my bird friend, Maybe that's our cue to get out of here. He nodded in agreement and we started heading towards the shore. The lifeguard reached the bottom of his tall chair and was now waddling across the beach right for us! I figured the best way to handle this confrontation would be with maturity and delicacy, so I removed my sunglasses and looked the sweaty man in the eye as he approached.

"Hey, you gotta scram, dog," he scowled. "You see that sign over there?" he jabbed his thumb to the corner of the beach, where there was a white sign stuck into the sand. "Since you're a dog, and you're too dumb to read it, I'll tell you what it says. It says NO DOGS. Do you understand? NO DOGS. So BEAT IT!" And then do you know what he did? He wrapped his grubby little hand around my neck, picked me right up and threw me across the beach!

Of course you realize, _this_ means war.

Woodstock flew over to my side and started tweeting in my ear like crazy. I'm fine, Woodstock, give me some space! He backs up a bit and I shake the sand out of my fur.

"And _stay_ out!" The lifeguard roared. He turned back around and started walking towards his stupid chair again. I felt a growl rising deep in my chest and I would have jumped out to bite him, if it weren't for Woodstock blocking my way.

Woodstock, move, that guy's a jerk.

_"ll! lll lllll ll lllllll llll!"_ he told me, flapping his wings in my face.

Alright, alright, I spluttered, spitting out feathers. We'll come up with a plan to get back at that guy. I didn't come all the way to Florida just to get kicked off the beach!

o

o

A little while later, the sun was directly above us. It was a very hot day. Woodstock and I had taken a long nap in the shade of the trees just outside the beach. We tried to ignore the fact that we weren't allowed on the beach, and to enjoy ourselves in the sun without the cool ocean. It wasn't that easy. Before noon, it was already blazing hot. We couldn't stand it another minute. We'd even snatched some ice cream from a picnicking family's cooler when they weren't looking. But the frozen ice pops only helped to cool us down for a few minutes. They were soon gone, and there we were on the edge of the beach again, jealously eyeing the beach goers as they played and laughed in the sand and surf.

That's it! I exclaimed to Woodstock, throwing down my ice pop stick. He picked it up in his talons and threw it in a nearby garbage can. My pal Woodstock, ever the environmentalist.

I'm sick of this heat! I want to go swimming and build a sandcastle! I don't care what that old lifeguard has to say!

I rushed onto the beach rebelliously. The sand burned hot beneath my paws, but it felt good. I could hear the waves crashing gently over the beach, and in one single bound, I headed for the water.

_"lll! lllllll ll llll llll lllll llllll!_" Woodstock called after me, frantically flapping his wings around. He didn't even fly over the sand. I rolled my eyes.

Look Woodstock, the water's great! Nice and cool...feels amazing!

I splashed around and shake my tail, Woodstock watching me from the edge of the beach with great envy. And sweat. He was getting hotter and hotter by the minute, hovering there in the sun, and I knew I had him this time. He finally gave up and fluttered over to me, joining me in the cool ocean water.

The lifeguard hadn't noticed me and Woodstock in the water yet. But we were keeping an eye on him. After a few minutes, he spotted us.

"HEY! I thought I told you to SCRAM, beagle?" his face got all red again and I laughed. I stuck out my tongue at him, teasing him. I would just like to see him try and catch me from up there. He was so furious; he shot up out of his chair in outrage.

Uh oh, Woodstock, look! I pointed to the lifeguard. His thick red floating device is blocking the ladder for him to get down!

Me and the little bird called out to him, trying to warn him. But he just ignored us and tried to get down, not seeing the floatation device.

"Shut up you stupid dog! I'll get you for that!" he stepped down one, two, three steps. There was one more step until he hit the obstacle.

Oh, I can't watch! I covered Woodstock's eyes with one paw and my own with the other.

A second later, we heard a loud "AAUUGHHHH!" and a crash. I pulled my paws away from our eyes. Several people had rushed to the scene, huddled around the bottom of the lifeguard chair. Woodstock and I sheepishly sat in the water, not wanting to get blamed for his clumsy accident. After a while, a medical crew showed up and dragged the lifeguard onto a stretcher. One of the men made an announcement to the people on the beach.

"Attention, everyone," he bellowed, "The beach is now closed due to lack of lifeguards on duty. Please exit the premises. Thank you for your cooperation."

There was a loud groan from all at the beach, including myself and Woodstock. We got out of the water and started to leave along with everyone else.

This stinks, I told Woodstock, kicking some sand into the air.

Suddenly, Woodstock stopped dead and started whirling around excitedly in the air!

What?

_"llll! lll llllll llll lll llll l llllllllll lll!"_ he cried happily. It wasn't really a bad idea. Woodstock was known for his bad ideas, but this surprisingly wasn't one of them. A wide grin stretched across my face.

You know what, Woodstock, that might actually work! The both of us high-fived each other and rushed off the beach. We had a vacation to save.

o

o

About fifteen minutes later, Woodstock and I rushed back onto the beach, our goals set. We had prepared for this adventure as well as we could. Now, we were each sporting red swim trunks, dark sunglasses, and white sunscreen on our noses. I had a whistle around my neck and Woodstock carried a deck of cards in his talons. After moving the floatation device from the steps, I clambered up the stairs and sat myself down on the chair formerly inhabited by that sweaty old lifeguard. I grinned at my pal. This was one of the best ideas he'd ever had. I reached into the pocket of my swim trunks and pulled out my newest possession: an honorary lifeguarding license (purchased at the local five and ten, but the officials didn't need to know that)! Woodstock had one just like it. He flew over to the sign on the side of the beach that read "NO DOGS" and spray painted over it in red! Now there was just a red sign hung up on the side of the beach. But wait! Using typical cartoon magic, he pulled a can of white paint out of thin air and painted the words "Beach Open" over the red! No sooner had he painted these words did a hundred people show up at the beach! Woodstock flew back over to me, forgetting the paint can. He winked and I winked back. I discovered two cans of root beer underneath the chair. I cracked them each open and handed one to Woodstock (I had to put a straw in his because he couldn't lift the can). We proposed a toast and drank to our victory, enjoying the sun now as it beamed down on us.

Now _this_ is the life!

o

o

"Help! Help!"

The shrill cries of the little girl startled me out of my sleep.

Wha-? Who? Whuzza? Whereza fire? I snapped to fully awake and turned to my friend. What's going on, Woodstock?

He fluttered his feathers and pointed to the water with his wing. The first things I saw were swimmers, close to the shore and just enjoying the pleasant day. I relaxed a little. But then I spotted what Woodstock was gesturing to. The sun reflected off the water and I had to squint to see properly. Waaaaaaaaay out in the water, probably about a million miles from the shore, a tiny blonde head bobbed up and down in the waves.

"Help! Help!" she was calling frantically, waving her arms as the ocean's cruel waves dragged her under and deeper.

I froze. There was no way I was going that deep into the ocean. Maybe someone else would save her. Yeah, that's it, I thought to myself. Somebody else will see her and she'll be saved. She'll be fine. I closed my eyes again, ignoring Woodstock's slightly painful tugs on my ears.

"Lifeguard, lifeguard!" I opened my eyes and looked down. Directly below my lifeguard's chair was—dare I say it—the only thing hotter than this beach. A young woman stood there, shielding her eyes from the sun with the back of her hand, waving to me with the other. She was curvy, tan, and toned. Her bikini was a bright pink and her long, flowing hair was a dazzling blonde. My eyes popped WAY out of my head and I even wolf-whistled a little. Woodstock banged me on the head.

OW! I cried, rubbing my throbbing head.

The girl called to me again. "That's my little sister out there! She wandered away from me and got in the water while I wasn't looking! You've got to save her, lifeguard!"

Suddenly I was hit with the power of ten billion men. I showed her my muscles and cried, Never fear, miss! Snoopy is here!

I literally leaped down from my post, snatching my life ring on the way down. It took all my strength not to stop as I whizzed by the woman, blowing her a kiss as I passed. I jumped into the water and started doggy-paddling out to the girl. I paddled for what felt like days, and then I stopped for a second to catch my breath.

Rats! I had only gone a few feet from the shore. I needed an alternative. So, I sat down on the life ring. Everyone watched from the beach with great curiosity and baited breath. I called out to Woodstock, who flew safely down and landed on the ring next to me.

Here, grab hold of my tail, I told him. He did as I said and I leaned over in the water. I took a deep breath and stuck my nose under the waves, so my entire head was underwater. I spun my ears around with helicopter speed, and the life ring shot forward like a motorboat. Woodstock steered with my tail, turning me left and right, closer and closer to the little blonde girl. I could see her feet approaching under the water, and as we got closer I slowed to a halt. I breached the surface with a huge gulp of air. The little girl was flapping her arms all around and making splashes everywhere.

Hey, cut it out, we're here to rescue you! I barked at her. I reached out my paw for her to take hold of, and she did so once she saw me. But I guess I didn't have a good enough grip on the life ring, and she yanked me right into the water with her!

Help! I'm drowning! I shouted frantically to Woodstock, who hovered above us. _Help_!

The little girl was gripping my ears and face with such force; I was being pulled beneath the waves. I couldn't breathe. I knew for sure that I was going to die. I saw my entire life flash before my eyes... There was the time I left my brothers and sisters at the Puppy Farm to go home with Charlie Brown... Then there was the time I accidentally ate that entire chocolate cake and drank 62 bottles of root beer and had a killer stomach ache... And then I was reliving the time I was lifted up out of the ocean by Woodstock...

Wait a minute, that never happened. I opened my eyes. But it was true! Woodstock was lifting both me and the little girl up out of the water! I didn't even know he had so much strength! This was crazy! He wasn't even breaking a sweat! He was... He was...

He was flying away. Towards the shore. And we were still hovering mid-air. I glanced up again. Oh. Woodstock hadn't been lifting us out of the water. It had been a human. A big, strong man with huge muscles and red swim trunks. He had me by one hand and the little girl by the other. I glanced towards the shore. It was only a few feet away. The little girl and I had been thrashing around in the water, in the shallow area of the beach.

Boy, did I feel foolish.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" The woman from before-the little girl's older sister-came rushing over. She grabbed her little sister from the guy's arms and embraced her. I shrugged off the big guy's grip and stood nice and tall for the woman to thank me personally for all my hard work. She stood up from hugging her little sister and faced me. I took a step forward, beaming with pride.

"My hero," she said with a smile, walking towards me with arms outstretched. I held out my arms to hug her back when she walked right past me and into the arms of that big guy with the muscles.

Hey! I pouted, What about me! I'm the real hero here!

The woman laughed and bent down close to me. I thought for sure my reward was coming now.

"You silly dog, I can't believe I thought you were the lifeguard! If the real lifeguard hadn't come to the rescue, you and my sister would both be goners!" she laughed and patted me on the head.

Gosh, do I hate it when people pat me on the head.

The actual lifeguard got down close to me, too.

"There are no dogs allowed on this beach, now, er...Snoopy," he said, reading my collar. I shrugged away from him and huffed. "Not even lifeguarding ones. But I can tell you, there is a dog park down the street there. Why don't you take your owner and head over and play some ball?" Then do you know what he did? _He_ patted me on the head, too! I fumed. Luckily, Woodstock fluttered safely to my side to protect me from biting them. The two walked away with the little girl waving to me as she followed them.

I watched them for a second with rage in my eyes, until something yellow caught my attention. My heart jumped in my rib cage. Could it be? My eyes jerked to the side and I leaped up. Was it him? Charlie Brown, my round-headed owner come to save me from my torturous vacation? I rushed towards the yellow-shirted kid that I saw walking along the beach and tackled him to the ground.

Charlie Brown! Oh, Charlie Brown it's so good to see you! I licked his face and hopped up and down on his chest. But wait a minute. I stopped licking his face. No, this wasn't my owner. He had too much hair. I sulked and slithered away before the lifeguard could see, embarrassed. The yellow-shirted boy just sat there in the sand, dumbfounded and confused.

Woodstock flew back out of nowhere.

Where do you keep going when I need you the most? I asked him, kicking up sand beneath my feet. He just tweeted in my ear and came to rest on my shoulder. We sulked off the beach sadly, hanging our heads. Our luggage was left at the airport; we injured a lifeguard, and failed at saving a little girl from drowning. This sure was some vacation.

You know, Woodstock, I said thoughtfully. I'm getting kind of hungry. Aren't you?

He chirped in agreement_. "lll!"_

And Charlie Brown would have made me my supper by now... I glanced up at the sky. The sun was almost coming down to form a beautiful sunset. If I were at home, I would be lying on my back on the doghouse right now, getting ready for a peaceful sleep... I turned to Woodstock again. When do you think is the earliest flight out of here?

_"l lllllll llll lllll lll!"_ He replied. I started to skip towards the airport, humming as I went, eventually Woodstock joined in,

_Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home._


	9. All That

**A/N: Hello readers! Welcome back to the Peanuts high school drama. As we last left our gang, the homecoming dance was coming to a close and Violet's party was just about to begin. This chapter was by far the hardest to write. It's about to get juicy. However, I must warn you. This chapter is action-packed and extremely long. It also gets pretty intense. Here are just a few of the many things you are likely to see in this chapter:**

**- a snotty, mean girl**

**- a new character**

**- extreme fluff between some people**

**- some things will strike you as disappointing**

**- a little bit of swearing, sorry about that.**

**- super long longness.**

**- kissing, yes. but not between who you expect.**

**- SUSPENSE !**

**If you have a fatal allergy to or cannot stand any of the previous things, I highly advise you not to read any further. Read at your own risk. Thank you. **

**As usual, I do not own the Peanuts. So grab your comfy reading pillows, blankets, etc., because it's about to be one bumpy ride. **

**xoxo, ~ml**

**Chapter 9: All That's Left of Me**

_**/Violet/**_

Words cannot express how much I hate that Lucy Van Pelt right now. As if her genius scheme to steal Schroeder back isn't enough, it actually worked perfectly. Patty, Frieda and I leave the dance early to get everything set up for the party. Since my house is right around the corner, we jump in the car and wheel around the block into my driveway. We're classy like that, and we don't like to get our shoes dirty. As soon as the car is in park, Patty literally throws herself out of the passenger seat and groans.

"I cannot /_believe_/ her!" she screams into the darkness as Frieda and I gracefully step out of the car like the ladies we are. "I just can't /_stand_/ it! She thinks she can have anything she wants in the world and at no cost! I've never gotten a cute guy to like me in a million years, and she's had the same one since we were five!"

Frieda and I exchange an annoyed glance. I stoop down and remove my shoes. Frieda mimics me as Patty continues to moan.

"Shut /_up_/ already, Patty," I snap, yanking Patty away from my car before she dents it with her head or something.

"We're all upset with Lucy right now," Frieda chimes in.

"And maybe the reason you're never liked by cute guys is because you're dating an ugly one."

I ignore the looks my two friends give me at this comment and head inside before them. I switch on the lights once I'm in and drop my shoes on the floor by the door. I throw my keys into a tin on the shelf and cringe at a dirty sock my little ten-year-old brother must have left on the floor earlier. Luckily, he's at his friend's house for the night, so he won't be getting in my way as I make Lucy Van Pelt's life miserable for everyone to see. Oh, and I'll be making Schroeder my own, of course. Unfortunately, Patty's younger brother, Stephen, will be tagging along, his claim being that he's got nothing better to do. And since this is Patty's party too, I couldn't exactly tell him no. But he's around the same age as Sally Brown, so I'm sure he'll make friends with her just fine. Plus, he isn't nearly as annoying as my brother. Stephen's tolerable, at least.

I yank open the fridge and snatch everything edible that I can find. Mother has left me all sorts of good things to feed the party guests, so I pile them all onto the kitchen table and hope that will suffice. Patty and Frieda are still standing by the doorway, talking quietly to themselves. I thought I drove them here so they would help me get ready! Some friends. I clear my throat heavily and they both turn to look at me with bored expressions on their faces.

"Um, hello, we've got a party to prepare for here, so if you ladies are quite finished..." I gesture to the living room and they both sigh. They at least make an effort to help me move the couch, chairs, and the coffee table to the outside of the room so I can quickly vacuum the rug. After we get everything back in place, it's about time that the dance would be ending. The guests will be showing up any second now. I flip a switch on the wall and the lights dim, while Frieda turns on the surround sound stereo. An upbeat, happy song belts from the speakers and I wouldn't be surprised if they can hear it all the way back at the dance. The shadows dance across the floor as a car pulls into the driveway behind mine.

"Ooh, they better not hit my car," I fume, but I really can't concentrate on my car right now. Any one of these guests could be Schroeder, or even Lucy. I listen for the slamming of a door. Then I imagine I can even hear the sound of footsteps approaching my porch. But the lights from the car don't flick off. They back up and fade into the distance. I glance sideways at Patty, and she shrugs in response to my questioning look. I hear a timid knock on the door. I step forward and open it with baited breath.

"Hey, the party's here!"

The three of us let out irritated groans.

"I should've known you'd be the first one here, Stephen," Patty scowls at her little brother.

But he ignores her. He moonwalks into the room, humming, "You know the party don't start till I walk in..."

Patty slaps herself in the forehead. "Where's the alcohol?" she groans.

I shrug. "Check the liquor cabinet. Above the microwave." she disappears into the kitchen as Stephen breezes past Frieda and me.

"Ladies," he greets us, nodding his head and winking. Frieda giggles and I roll my eyes again.

"Just don't eat all my food," I grumble, turning my eyes back towards the door.

His face lights up at the sound of my words. "Food? Don't mind if I do..." and he heads into the dining room.

/_Nobody's even here yet,_/ I think to myself, /_and I can already tell this is going to be a lonnnng night._/

o

o

_**/Charlie Brown/**_

"Are you sure you haven't seen him?" Sally frantically asks again, ruffling her dress nervously.

I shake my head. The dance is over, and Sally, Peppermint Patty, Lucy and I have been waiting for Linus for the past twenty minutes. We are standing outside the gym doors, watching all of the sweaty teenagers exit. Lucy sighs and taps her foot impatiently, wrapping a protective arm around Sally, who is nearly in tears. I really wish I could somehow be comforting to my little sister, but I'm sure nothing I say would be of any help to her. Peppermint Patty twists her hand into mine and gives it a squeeze. I pull her close to me and kiss her forehead. This relationship stuff isn't half as bad as I'd thought it would be. Once I got over the initial shock, anyways, and started enjoying myself, it's actually kind of fun. Especially tonight, after dancing with Peppermint Patty almost six times in a row, I've really begun to realize how much I like her. She's perfect. Now, I embrace her ever so casually, as if I'm the kind of guy who just hangs out with his girlfriend and knows exactly what to do with her. But I still can't decide how to tell her I love her. Or if I even do. Do I? I hug Peppermint Patty tighter. I just don't know.

"Any idea of where he might be, Lucy?" I ask. She shrugs.

"I have no clue. But I can't wait here forever you know. Violet's party has already started, and Schroeder might be there! Waiting for me!" her hand flies to her mouth and she quickly corrects herself. "Not that I care about that or anything."

I sigh. "Alright, you take Sally and go to the party; I'll meet you there after I find Linus."

Peppermint Patty turns to face me. "What about me?" she says. I stare at her. Her short brown hair has come slightly undone and is now in this cute frizzy mess all around her face. I smile.

"Well," I say, "you can stay here with me and help me look for Linus or you can go with Sally and Lucy to the party."

She lets go of my hand and yawns. "Can't I just go home?"

Sally, Lucy and I look at her sternly. She grins sheepishly and shrugs. "Fine, I'll go. But I'm not standing another second in this dress. Let me grab my stuff out of your car and I'll go with Lucy."

"Alright," I agree, squeezing her arm. I hit the unlock button on my car remote and I can see the lights flicker. "See you when I get there." I peck her quickly on the cheek and try my best to conceal my blush.

"Yeah, yeah," Lucy whines, "can we hurry it up already? Remember, there's a party to get to?"

Peppermint Patty scowls, "Alright fine. See ya, Chuck." she waves to me and hurries to grab her stuff out of my backseat. She had brought a bag with a T-shirt and shorts in it for after the dance. I objected to this idea, at first, but she immediately got me to cave in and allow her to change.

Sally hangs back from Lucy and Peppermint Patty for a moment, watching me with tears in her eyes. She approaches me and brings her face close to mine.

"Bring him back, okay big brother?" she barely whispers in my ear. "Please." I can see the desperation in her eyes as she's begging me to do this. Maybe I wasn't paying attention to anything tonight, but for some reason, Sally is frantic about Linus's attendance at the party. She also seems to know exactly why he's gone.

I nod. "Of course," I assure her. She smiles and gives me a quick hug before whirling back around to join Lucy and Peppermint Patty.

I sigh as I watch them get into the car and pull away. A few dance-goers linger by the door, and I search for the familiar face of my best friend. As I'm searching for an answer—anything not to let my baby sister down—I'm reminded of our modern technology. I reach into my pants pocket, where out of some stroke of luck my cell phone waits for me to dial Linus's phone number. As it's ringing, I silently pray that Linus has his phone on him. It rings about five times and I'm just about to give up hope before Linus picks up on the sixth ring.

"Hello?" his voice is shaky and nervous.

"Linus? Where have you been, Sally has been looking everywhere for you."

Dead silence on the other end. Before I can check to see if he's still there, I hear Linus's voice, barely above a whisper.

"Sally?"

"Yeah, Sally. Remember? Your date?"

He takes a muffled deep breath but says nothing.

"Where are you?" I try again, looking around the school yard, hoping to see him somewhere.

"I'm behind the gym. In front of the senior hallway doors."

My eyes flicker to the corner of which he speaks. I spot a flash of his pink shirt and I dart over to him, hanging up my cell phone as I do so.

Linus looks like a wreck. He sits on the step into the school, clutching to his skimpy blanket for dear life. His hair is all ruffled about his head, and his jacket lays on the step next to him. His shirt has come untucked and it even looks a little faded.

"Linus," I gasp, rushing to his side. "What the hell happened?"

He stared at me. "Nothing, Charlie Brown," he says, with surprising confidence in his voice. "Just ...needed some air. That's all."

Now I may be the biggest blockhead in the world, but I'm at least smart enough to realize my best friend's terrible lie. I sit down on the step beside Linus and turn to face him. He closes his eyes and sighs heavily. If I look close enough, I can see him shaking.

"Nice try Linus, now what happened with my sister?" I ask carefully. I was planning on saying "what did you do to her?" but after seeing him like this, something tells me that's not the best idea in this situation.

Linus shakes his head. "Hasn't she told you?" he asks. I shake my head. He chuckles disbelievingly. "That's surprising. Well Charlie Brown, let's just say I messed up. Big time."

"How?"

He shakes his head again and tells me the story, almost as if recalling a nightmare he had. He tells me about his dance with my sister, but his details are less than minute. For this, I silently thank him. I'm not sure what I would do if my best friend turned all goo-goo eyed on me. Then again, I always tell Linus about my times with Peppermint Patty, so I really shouldn't be so judgmental. I listen carefully to his recollection and pretend not to notice him cringe when he describes the part about leaving her on the dance floor. When Linus finishes, he hangs his head and I don't know what to say. I figure I've got to say something comforting, or else what are friends for? So I give it a go.

"It's alright, Linus," I tell him, "Sally probably won't hold a grudge against you. She probably understands that you were just nervous."

"But that's the thing, Charlie Brown," he says, turning to me again, "I don't want her to know I was nervous. Then she'll get the wrong idea."

I think about this for a second. Based on the story Linus has just told me, I'd have to make a crazy assumption here. "Maybe," I suggest slowly, "It's not the wrong idea." he just stares at me in disbelief. I quickly try to back up my statement. "You know, Linus, maybe you don't hate her as much as you say you do."

"Now hold it right there, Charlie Brown," he says defensively, "not once did I say I hated her. I just don't feel the same way she does."

"You say that, but do you mean it?" I give him a meaningful look and he slumps his shoulders again.

"Oh, good grief, I'm so confused." Linus rests his head on his hand which holds his blanket. He rubs it softly against his face as he says, "I've never felt this way about her before. Just ...tonight ...she looked so ...and when she danced with me ...I didn't know what to do..." he swallows and looks away from me.

I pat my best friend on the back and smile. "It's weird, I know Linus, but I actually know exactly how you feel. I feel that way whenever I look at Peppermint Patty. I didn't notice it at first, and maybe I was a bit afraid to admit it, but trust me, once I gave in, I never regretted it. Not once."

He hesitantly turns back around to face me. "You know something, Charlie Brown? That's the best advice you've ever given me. You may just be right for once."

I beam. "I think we both have someone waiting for us at that party."

I reach my hand out and help him get up on his feet. He jumps up, still clutching his blanket securely in his other hand. I grab his jacket from the step and throw it around his shoulders. As we head out to the parking lot, he suddenly stops and stares at me with a horrified expression on his face.

"Do you think she'll forgive me?" he stammers. "Do you think if I apologize, then maybe she'll like me again?"

I can't help but laugh at this question. "Oh, Linus," I chuckle, "there's no way my sister could ever hold a grudge against you."

He starts walking again, slowly and steadily. He sort of grins out of the side of his mouth, and lowers his blanket from his face. "Really?"

"Well, sure."

He nods and walks a bit quicker, more sure of his steps now towards my car. We're just about there when he stops in his tracks again. I try not to act annoyed as I shoot him a questioning look. He raises his blanket to his nose and inhales deeply, sort of smelling it. I don't know exactly what I expect him to say, but I should have seen his next statement coming.

"She's got the most perfect hair..."

This time I roll my eyes with great exaggeration. "Oh good grief," I mumble, unlocking the car and getting into it. He pauses for a moment, shakes his head, and jumps into the car.

o

o

_**/Sally/**_

I had about a million questions. Why did he leave? Was it me? Did I make him nervous? Was he embarrassed to be seen with me again? I thought we had finally made a connection. Why didn't he kiss me while we were dancing? We were so close. It was the most wonderful moment of my life. Why were boys so confusing?

As soon as we got to the party, I knew it would be a long night. Lucy stormed off for the bathroom as Peppermint Patty and I talked awhile to Marcie and Franklin, who were there a bit before us. As if I wasn't worried enough about Linus, I also had to deal with this boy who was there, Patty's little brother, Stephen. He was in a few of my classes this year and he was known for having a huge crush on me. While I found it flattering, he was a tool and a womanizer. I wasn't the least bit interested. Or so I thought.

"Hey, Sally, fancy seeing you here," Stephen said to me with a wink. I was standing near the door, nervously checking my phone for text messages and just ignoring everyone. My big brother hadn't walked through the door with Linus yet, but I was keeping my eyes out for them. I rolled my eyes at Stephen, but greeted him anyways.

"Hey, Stephen," I said, trying to look bored. It wasn't hard.

"Having a good time?" he asked. I shrugged.

"I guess, if you could call standing here alone a good time."

He laughed. "Hey, I know the feeling. I don't know anyone here who isn't my sister." he raised his eyebrows at me. "Well, besides you, of course." he winked again. I half smiled. He /was/ kind of cute. He had very light brown hair, almost blonde, and bright, shining green eyes. He was pretty muscular and he had a great white dimpled smile.

"So, you wanna sit down?" he asked. I shrugged again with a final hopeless glance towards the door.

"Why not?" I agreed. He took my hand and led me towards the couch in the living room. Luckily, it was not occupied.

I didn't mind that he sat right down and pulled me down next to him, almost in his lap. I didn't at all mind that he smelled like the forest and fresh country air.

"Got ditched by your date, huh?" he asked me, taking my hand in his and rubbing his thumbs on the backs of my palms. I scowled.

"I guess. Although I don't know why." he looked into my eyes sympathetically.

"Well I don't know why he would do that," he said softly. I /_especially_/ didn't mind when he smiled at me, looked me right in the eyes and said, "You look really beautiful tonight."

I could feel myself blushing. Linus never said that to me, not once the whole time I'd known him. And yet, here was Stephen, an immature boy who I barely knew. Someone I always thought was only interested in poop jokes and sports was telling me I looked beautiful. I smiled. "Thank you, Stephen, that's so sweet," I replied.

He smiled back and put his arm around me, bringing me in closer to him. He looked me straight in the eyes and leaned in to me. I felt high, giddy. I was about to have my first kiss. And it wasn't with Linus! Was this what I wanted? Did I even care what I wanted? No way. I closed the gap between us, pressing my lips to his. He put his other arm around me, resting one hand on my thigh and the other still around my back. I closed my eyes. He kissed me with a bit more intensity. I never thought my first kiss would turn into making out on Violet's couch. I also never thought it would be with Stephen, either. So I let him kiss me. I even let him put his hands all over me and everything. I let myself go. Because deep down I had the feeling that my Sweet Baboo wasn't coming back for me.

o

o

_**/Linus/**_

Charlie Brown was wrong. Oh so terribly wrong. Sally didn't want me. I walked into the party, all prepared to say I was sorry for being such an idiot and there she was, right on the couch in the living room, with some other guy. I didn't know who he was. I didn't care who he was. All I knew is they were kissing and everything and that even though all I could think about was her, she sure as hell wasn't thinking about me. Charlie Brown steered me onto the back porch, getting me away from there before I snapped. But it was too late for that, I was already long gone. I pulled my blanket back out of my pocket and raised it to my cheek. I sat down on the porch railing and just stared at the night sky.

"I'm so sorry, Linus." Charlie Brown put a helpful arm around my shoulders and patted me on the back. There wasn't much else he could do. I shrugged away from him and went back to staring at the sky.

At first I didn't notice Lucy sit down next to me. When she started talking, I jumped a little, for she startled me.

"I heard what happened," she said quietly. "And I've got one piece of advice for you."

I thought at first this would be good advice. Something I could actually go by, since although Lucy was often very snotty and bratty, on rare occasions she did give me pretty good advice.

"Never fall in love, Linus. Just give up now, or else the rest of your life will be like a living Hell."

o

o

_**/Schroeder/**_

The applause of the crowd rippled across the stage and echoed in my ears. I stood up, closed my eyes, and took a bow, drinking in the appreciation and glory these people were pouring down on me like rain. But of course there was something missing. My eyes kept flickering to the end of that grand piano, picturing it shrinking, diminishing, until it became that little black piano that I'd had for so long. Then I saw her, leaning on the edge of it, her mouth moving like it was in fast motion. I imagined she was probably rambling on about marriage, or something stupid like that. I bowed again to my audience. The imaginary Lucy turned to me and smiled.

_/"I already think you're the best musician who's ever lived."/_ she said. I beamed and took one last bow, and then the curtain fell. That was the end of my performance. The imaginary Lucy disappeared and my tiny piano once again became the large grand piano on the stage. It wasn't even mine. It had felt odd, touching the stranger keys under my fingertips. All I wanted was my little toy piano back. It sounded crazy, but that was all I wanted. That and my muse.

As I left the stage, people were congratulating me left and right. But I couldn't concentrate on anyone. My head was once again filled with the image of Lucy, lying on her stomach on her bed, holding that little white cancerous stick between her fingers like a pencil. It disgusted me. I shook my head and loosened my tie. I was wearing a full tuxedo with a little flower in the pocket and everything. These concerts were so formal. I tore off the hot jacket and the tie. Unbuttoning the first button of my lavender shirt, I tossed the jacket over my shoulder. I took my cell phone out of my jacket pocket and quickly sent my mother a text message to let her know I was leaving. I felt real bad about not going out with her and my little sister after the performance. It's our usual routine. It wasn't like these performances were anything out of the ordinary, anyways. I couldn't see her or anyone else I knew, just a bunch of random people who were here to see me perform.

I waved, smiled, and thanked all of the people that were visiting me, quickly escaping them into the parking lot. Once I was out into the cool air, I took a deep breath and headed towards my little car. It wasn't nearly a sports car, that's for certain, but hey, the little green bug got me where I needed to be with relatively low gas mileage so I was content. I started the engine, threw my jacket onto the floor and picked up the little pink invitation from the passenger seat where I had left it. Garrison Street...that was about fifteen minutes away from the auditorium. I stepped on the gas and made my way to the party. As I drove, I thought of Lucy. I wondered what other things she would be getting into at this party. Would she be smoking again? Or drinking? I shuddered at the thought. I couldn't stand to see her hurting herself like that. Lucy Van Pelt was my best friend. As much as I hated to admit it, it was true. I knew she used to be head over heels for me, and maybe it was my fault she gave up on me. But maybe it was her fault for being so stubborn. After all, I did try apologizing, but she was still as hard to crack as ever. She was Lucy. But she was different now. So much different that it kind of made me sad. Still, she /was/ that same little girl who had leaned on my piano when we were kids. She was that same girl who had become slightly more bearable over the years. Even though I told myself how much she annoyed me all this time, I was still there to comfort her when her grandma died, and whenever something else was on her mind. It seemed like whenever I wasn't distracted by the beauty of Beethoven's symphonies and when she wasn't blabbering on about marriage, we made more of a connection, and we shared more in common. For a moment, I thought I might have actually /liked/ her.

But as I turned the corner onto Violet's street, I shook my head. No, it wasn't true. I didn't like Lucy Van Pelt. I did /_not_/ like her. We were just friends. Very close friends. I asked her to be my date to this party ...why did I do that again? Oh yes, that's right. Because I needed to protect her from hurting herself. I just had to.

I pulled up next to a house a few houses down from the address on the invitation. The street was lined with cars. I could tell immediately which house was Violets, for there was bump music blasting from the windows and random people standing outside on the lawn. I sighed and got out of the car. I hadn't gotten Violet or Patty a gift for their birthdays. I hadn't had time. Plus, I wasn't made of money. I barely talked to these girls anyways. What did they expect?

I tiptoed around the random people paired off on the porch and the lawn as I made my way to the front door. I saw some familiar faces but I concentrated hard on ignoring them and making it to the door. I figured knocking would be pointless when it was so loud so I just let myself in.

I had barely made it through the door when I was bombarded by people. Female people. Violet and Frieda had run up to me with a few other girls and were giggling and sighing all over me. I pushed my way through them so I was at least out of the way of the door and looked around, over the tops of their heads. This wasn't easy, because Frieda for one was taller than me. Patty was nowhere to be seen, but that's probably because I /may/ have seen her out on the porch with Shermy. It seems like I wasn't worth breaking up with her boyfriend of almost three years, after all. I slightly smiled at the thought and was immediately reminded of Lucy again. Before I even had a chance to think of what she might be wearing, Violet stepped right into my line of vision.

"Hey, Schroeder," she said as gently as she could while still being loud enough over the music.

"Glad to see you finally made it," Frieda hummed as she smiled widely. They both stood right in front of me, blocking my path.

I smiled back as convincingly as I could. "No problem, happy birthday Violet." I tried not to cringe as I said her name. She sighed dreamily and I took that as my opportunity to push past her and her tall, red-headed friend. They both stood there for a moment before they registered what had happened, but by the time they noticed I had walked away, I was already near the kitchen and there was a wall of people separating us. I silently pumped my fist in victory and began my search for Lucy.

There were people everywhere. I remembered most of them from school. I saw Marcie and Franklin sitting at the kitchen table, sipping drinks and talking to each other. I waved at them.

"Hello, Schroeder," Marcie said in greeting, waving back. "Enjoying yourself?"

I half nodded, half shrugged. "Have you seen Lucy?" I asked. The two of them shook their heads.

"Not in a while," Franklin replied. "Check out back though, that's where a lot of the gang's been hanging out."

"Thanks." I headed towards the back door Franklin had gestured to and walked through it. When I got out there, nearly half a dozen people greeted me with a smile.

"Hey Schroeder, glad you could make it!" Pigpen called, sitting on the ground in the dirt as usual.

"Schroeder how was your concert?" Charlie Brown asked, clapping me on the back. I grinned when I saw that his arm was wrapped firmly around Peppermint Patty.

"It was alright," I replied with a shrug. A boy I remembered from camp who was named Roy waved to me. I waved back. Franklin was right. Most of the gang /was/ hanging out back here. There was Pigpen, Roy, Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, Joe Agate (who was acting surprisingly nice for once) and a few others.

I walked down the back steps and caught a glimpse of a night blue dress. My heart skipped a beat. There she was, sitting on the porch railing with her little brother, Linus. She was facing away from me, but I knew it was her. I recognized Linus by his dark, shaggy hair.

"Love stinks, Linus." she was saying to him, kicking her legs back and forth. Her shoes lay forgotten in the grass a few feet away and her bare toes were painted to match her dress. "Trust me, I know."

Her brother sighed. "But I really thought she realized how I felt," He moaned.

Lucy put an arm around her little brother. "You know what, Linus? You should just give up. Because true love is something that doesn't exist anymore. You know what's going to happen is she's gonna forget her feelings for you. She'll find something more important than you, like a dead guy, and push you right off her piano. That's what's going to happen."

"Lucy?" I said lightly. She whirled around.

"Schroeder!" she pulled her arm out from around her brother and almost fell off the ledge. I reached out and caught her wrist, steadying her. She stared at me, bewildered. She didn't pull her wrist away, but kept it in my grip. Linus awkwardly jumped down from the railing and walked over to join Roy by the steps. I moved my eyes back to Lucy. She looked absolutely stunning. Everything about her was perfect. Her hair, her dress, even her lips... But her eyes were red and puffy. She had been crying. I lowered my grip from her wrist to her hand. I was made aware of the fact that people were watching us. She didn't take her eyes off of mine. I helped her down from her perch on the railing. She hit the ground and stumbled into my chest. I caught her shoulders and she looked up at me. I didn't breathe for fear we would break eye contact. I could barely speak. But I had to say something.

"I have to talk to you," I said quietly, not looking away. She blinked and looked around.

"Yeah. Okay. Fine." she let go of my hand. She looked away and started walking towards the play-set in Violet's backyard. I followed her lead. There were two swings and a jungle gym, with a slide. She sat down on one of the swings and motioned for me to sit on the other one. I did so. How was I supposed to start this conversation? What was I going to say? She kept staring at me with that look in her eyes ...what was she trying to indicate? I felt like I was sweating buckets, even though it was kind of chilly outside. I ran my fingers through my hair and let out my breath slowly. Lucy was facing me on her swing, her arms crossed, her eyebrows raised expectantly. I shook my head and closed my eyes. I knew exactly what I wanted to say. The only problem was, I had no idea how in the heck I was supposed to do it.

o

o

_**/Violet/**_

"I can't believe this," I whined. Frieda nodded in agreement. We were both staring out the window into the backyard, watching Schroeder talking to Lucy. From the looks of it, Lucy was trying not to give in, but no doubt those mystical eyes had her entranced. "That stupid Schroeder with his stupid friends, stupid Lucy talking to him over there on /_my_/ stupid swings, at /_my_/ stinking party. And that stupid Charlie Brown. I wonder how much his girlfriend gets paid to be there. It must suck to be her." I roll my eyes and Frieda just looks at me. I step away from the window. "Alright, Frieda, I've had about enough of this baloney. I'm going out there and giving them a piece of my mind. Let's go."

But Frieda doesn't follow me. She pats her hair nervously and watches as I head towards the door.

"What, am I speaking Chinese here? I said lets go!"

She shakes her head. "Actually, Violet, I don't think that's such a good idea," she says quietly. I scoff.

"Are you kidding? Look at them out there. That Charlie Brown and his stupid tomboy girlfriend. What a loser."

She shrugs. "I don't know, Violet," she mutters. "I actually kind of like Peppermint Patty. She's really nice, and a wicked softball player. She's got nice features, too. She's not ugly."

I can't believe what I'm hearing. "Are you kidding me? Her face looks like the inside of a garbage can! I can't stand it."

At that, I whirl around and head outside, this time with Frieda following close behind. As soon as we step out the back door, all eyes are on us. Even Schroeder's and that traitor Lucy's. I turn to face Charlie Brown. He and Peppermint Patty stand there on the porch. He's backed up against the wall and she stands in front of him with her arms wrapped around his waist. I almost throw up. She's no longer wearing her homecoming dress, but a pair of baggy sweatpants and a t-shirt. Gross.

I laugh. "Well hey there, failure face," I say with a smug grin. Frieda taps me on the shoulder. I ignore her. "What are we doing out here? Enjoying ourselves?" Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty exchange a worried look. I smile widely at their displeasure. "You should have known I would be out here sooner or later," I start, stepping even closer to the round-headed boy. "You can't hide from me forever. You think hanging outside with all your stupid friends is going to protect you?" I laugh again. This is awfully fun. The looks on everyone's faces are completely priceless. "I don't even know why Patty had to be nice enough to invite you, Charlie Brown. Your head is big enough for three people. You aren't even cool. I guess that's why you're hanging out out here, huh? You can't bear to be seen with the cool people, can you? You're stupid."

"Oh, shut up, Violet."

I turn to face Peppermint Patty. "What's that, Mrs. Failure? You don't think your /boyfriend/ should be picked on? Well that's just wonderful. They've got this new stuff, I don't know if you've heard of it. It's called /_shampoo_/. You should try it sometime." I turn back to Charlie Brown. "Hey, Charlie Brown, I'd watch out if I were you. Your girlfriend might have a penis. She dresses like a guy. She acts like one. She /_looks_/ like one. Hell, she even smells like one!" I laugh again. This is a riot. What makes it even funnier is the fact that the round-headed boy says nothing to defend his girlfriend. This is great.

What I don't expect is Lucy.

"Wow, who spilled bitch in your cereal this morning, Violet?" Lucy hops down off the swings and takes a daring step towards me. I laugh at her again.

"Oh, shut your huge mouth already, Lucy. We all know you aren't really as great as you think you are."

She raises her eyebrows. "You know what, Violet? Maybe you're right. Maybe I don't have as many admirers as I thought I did. But you sure aren't the greatest friend in the universe."

"Oh come on, Lucy." Who is she kidding? "We used to make fun of Charlie Brown and his cunt girlfriend together all the time. /_You_/ thought it was hilarious."

"Yeah, well, that was before I realized what a bitch you are. And what a great friend Charlie Brown is. He's kind, thoughtful, and generous. He really looks after his friends and family. He may not be cool or smart or perfect, Violet, but he's ten times the person you'll ever be."

I roll my eyes. "You think I actually /_care_/ about that stupid blockhead? The only reason he's here is so Patty wouldn't feel like a bitch for not inviting him. And the only reason /_you're_/ here is so I could get with Schroeder, but it looks like he's only interested in black-haired, flat-chested fake sluts!"

Schroeder actually stands up when I say this. The tension is real thick and it's almost scary. Schroeder looks like he's about to jump at me. But I cross my arms at him. "Lucy is not a fake slut, Violet," he rages at me. "In fact, she's more real than you've ever been in your life! She's beautiful, smart, and perfect." He looks at her. "And I love her."

o

o

/_**Lucy**_/

Had she heard right? Schroeder actually loved her? He said it, right in front of everyone. _/"I love her."_/ Yes, he had said it alright, she wasn't dreaming. And what he had said to her a moment ago... It was perfect. She was still recalling every last one of his words in her head.

_/"Lucy, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said to you that day before I left. I'm sorry I was such a jerk about leaving, and I said I couldn't wait to get away from you. To be honest, the whole time I was in Germany, I couldn't stop thinking about you. You wouldn't leave my mind. Even the stuff you said about marriage... I just couldn't get you out of my head. I miss you, Lucy. I miss being your best friend and talking to you about everything. Remember that day in eighth grade, in my garage? When we were supposed to go blading in the park but it was pouring rain? And we ended up talking about everything in the world? And do you remember—you told me you loved me? When I didn't say it back... It wasn't because I didn't. It was because I was too afraid. You're my muse, Lucy. I can't play my piano right without you there, listening to me. Even tonight, at my concert, I had to picture you there, leaning up against the piano and everything, in order to get the notes right. I'm just so sorry I ever caused you any pain, Lucy. I'm really, truly sorry."/_

She did recall that day. Actually, it had been one of the best days of her life. Schroeder's dad had taken them out for ice cream after the rain had stopped, and they'd laughed and even splashed in the puddles like little kids. It felt like so long ago, when they were young and carefree.

She had actually had /_tears_/ in her eyes. But Lucy /never/ cried. Not ever. It was such a perfect apology. Schroeder was practically on his knees begging for her forgiveness. But could she forgive him? After a whole /_year_/ of pain, of suffering, could she tell him it was okay? Before she'd even had a chance to respond, Violet had entered the backyard with that evil look on her face. It was all crazy downhill from there. Once Violet had said those rude things about Charlie Brown, Lucy couldn't stand there and watch. She had to say /_some_/thing. So she did. She had said something, and Violet, her own ex-best friend Violet, had blown it upon her face and turned it around to make fun of her. But there he was, her knight in shining armor. Schroeder came to her rescue, and he said he loved her. Did he mean it? He'd confessed his love for her to all of those people, and he'd called her beautiful. And he was still talking.

"You have no idea what she's been through," Schroeder continued. "She's even smoked /_cigarettes_/." Lucy stopped dead, frantically trying to shut him up. But Schroeder was still going strong. "You have no idea what sort of life she lives. Don't /_begin_/ to judge her, or Charlie Brown, or his girlfriend. Because you don't know what their lives are even like."

Violet sure got a kick out of that. She burst into a fit of laughter. The rest of the gang stared at Lucy with bewildered looks on their faces, even Frieda watched her with wonder. Schroeder glared at Violet, still breathing heavily from his little speech. Lucy gave him an annoyed look.

"Oh, that's just too much," Violet laughed. "Cigarettes? You smoked /_cigarettes_/ to try and impress me or something? What kind of person do you think I am, Lucy Van Pelt? Do you think I give a damn whether you smoke cigarettes or not? I bet everyone thinks it's real cute, don't they? I bet they think you're so much cooler than before." she crossed her arms across her chest. "I don't know why I was ever friends with you, Lucy," she said, shaking her head slowly. "You're the most fake person I know." she shook her head and made for the door. "After tonight, I don't ever want to see you here again. Any of you." With one final glare at the rest of the gang, she threw herself back through the door. Frieda looked at everyone in turn, and then sighed, following her inside.

All at once, everyone's eyes were on Lucy. A hundred million questions burned behind their gazes and she whirled around to face Schroeder. He held out his arms to her but she scoffed, shoving him away.

"How could you do that to me?" she cried, tears forming in her eyes. "How /_could_/ you? After I told you not to tell anyone ...and you just ...you just went and ...I /_hate_/ you!" she choked out the words and then ran away from him. She ran around the house and out of the yard, down the street and down the block, leaving him there, bewildered and shocked. She didn't even know where she was going. All she knew was that she needed to get as far away from them—from him—as possible.


	10. Je T'aime

**Chapter 10: Je T'aime**

**AN: AND NOW, the moment you (and I!) have been waiting so patiently for: the final chapter... tears :'c but no worries! I may be back, if you want me to include a CBPP part. I've had a few ideas swimming around in my head, and I'm open to any and all suggestions, although I guarantee nothing.**

**If you guys want, I invite you to follow me on my new twitter page designed specifically for you guys: mmmarisalee ! Also feel free to follow my personal account: mcampitelle , if ya want. ._.**

**Twitter is good. **

**ANYWAYS! Here we are, the final chapter, the home stretch. I apologize from the bottom of my heart if it seems a bit ooc ; I tried my best. It's gonna get VERY intense. So I hope you came prepared. I really would have loved to add more CBPP, but I sort of felt as if it had gone on long enough. Maybe I shall add some in there, if you ask me very, very nicely. It certainly took long enough, but it's finally here. I sure couldn't have done it without all of you lovely readers! Without you I would be nothing! All the reviews I've received, everything! Thank you so much fanficcers! :) And now, without further ado, I present to you the last chapter of the single greatest fanfic I've ever written in my young life, Je T'aime. Please enjoy. It was a fun ride.**

**I love you all,**

**xoxoxox ~ml**

**Lucy**

The cloudy night sky was dark and menacing above Lucy's head as she continued down the street. She shook out her hair, ripping out the pins that held each curl in place. The curls had flattened now, looking sad and tired after the night's events. Her makeup had started running down her face, mingling with her salty tears sliding down her bright pink cheeks in contrasting black streaks, dripping off her chin forming dark splotches on her dress. She carelessly swiped at her face with the back of her hand. Violet's house loomed in the distance behind her, still visible with its flashing lights and blasting music still within earshot.

She tried her best not to turn around and run back there, to apologize to everyone and forgive the pianist for his slip-up, but her feet moved ever intently forward no matter what. She wandered barefoot down the sidewalk, not entirely sure exactly where she was headed. All she knew was her ferocity with Schroeder. He had promised not to tell a soul about what he'd seen, and yet he'd blurted it out in front of every one of Lucy's closest friends, and her enemies to boot. They knew her weakness, and they'd taken it in the exact way she'd always known they would. They were a bit shocked, yet not entirely surprised. Lucy had always been the most likely to get involved with those sorts of things. However, it wasn't like she'd made a habit out of it. She'd smoked two cigarettes and afterwards she'd sworn to herself that she'd never do it again. Yet Schroeder had made it seem like she had an addiction.

She was angry, of course, and why shouldn't she be? But she couldn't stay angry at Schroeder. He had admitted something she'd been waiting for so many years to hear. He'd finally said it. He'd finally said it, and she had told him she hated him. But she didn't really. She loved him and she loved him just the same as before.

However much his little confession had certainly hurt her, even now, continuing down that lonely, dark sidewalk late at night, she regretted it. She shouldn't have acted so rashly. She should have just accepted it; should have let it go. The gang was bound to find out about her little mishap regardless of Schroeder's confession to them. She could try to blame it on her anger with Violet, that it had gotten her all riled up, or her exhaustion, or anything at all. But the truth was, she was still angry with Schroeder for God knows what. It always seemed like she was angry with him. He was never innocent to Lucy.

Lucy kicked a stone lying on the sidewalk with her bare toe. It ricocheted off of a parked car tire nearby and clattered into the silent street. It was then that she heard it. The mumbled shuffles of company.

She wasn't alone on the street that night. She looked around nervously, clenching her fists instinctively. The shuffling continued and a few muffled voices reached her ears from around a corner. The voices were coming from a small, run-down house on the street corner. Lucy stopped in her tracks and froze.

Rounding the corner out from behind the house, three large men who looked about middle aged, staggered towards her. They were obviously drunk, and they each wore ragged old t-shirts and jeans. One of the men had a long, scruffy black beard on his chin. The second man peered through dark threatening glasses to reveal a pair of evil looking black eyes. The third looked to be the youngest, even possibly in his late twenties, with a full head of red hair and a face full of tan freckles. All three of them staggered towards Lucy, absorbing the sight of her standing in the dark street in her homecoming dress with eager, perverted eyes. The bearded one let out a low, growled chuckle.

Lucy simply couldn't move. She was rooted to the spot in fear and anger.

"Well fellas," the bearded one said menacingly, "would'ja lookit what we got 'ere."

Lucy crossed her arms. The men inched closer and she backed up.

"Yer a shy one, erm?" the bespectacled man muttered, laughing along with his friend. He was close enough to touch her. Lucy knew she should run; should get away from them. But she was still frozen to the spot. Maybe if she just let her guard down for a little while, she could show Schroeder and the rest of the gang that she was as serious as she was. "S' a pretty dress ye've got on," the man continued. He reached out and ruffled her skirt. Lucy winced.

"Where's yer lil' boyfriend, cutie?" the bearded man asked, joining his friend in ruffling her dress. Lucy, at least, had enough sense to smack their hands away.

"I haven't got one, what do you think!" she snapped, continuing to swat at their hands as they tried to touch her again.

The men raised their eyebrows. "Yer a feisty one, sweetheart," the bearded one scoffed. "You wanna play rough? We can play rough, can't we fellas?" the other men nodded and closed in on her. Lucy let out a whimper and caught her last look at the starry night sky before the men obscured her vision and made it impossible for her to breath.

**Schroeder**

A high pitched scream pierced the night and broke the tense atmosphere of the group. We had been quietly, awkwardly talking to each other about what had just happened. Charlie Brown had been attempting to comfort his girlfriend, while the other boys such as Pigpen and Roy were just staring at me. I had to admit, it was starting to get a little weird. Linus had been trying to convince me to chase after Lucy, to follow her into the night, but I couldn't do that. I figured I'd done enough damage; I couldn't hurt her any more than I already had.

But the blood-curling screech broke all communications between us. Charlie Brown even stopped talking to Peppermint Patty and looked around. His eyes locked with mine and I saw him hiccup. I couldn't wait; couldn't pause; couldn't _blink_. All I knew was that scream. Then again, who doesn't know that scream? The rest of the gang knew it, too. But I was the one who finally moved a muscle. I darted towards the gate where Lucy had left the yard only a few moments ago. Throwing open the gate, I sprinted through it and down into the street. I didn't know which way she had gone. The screaming had stopped, but I prayed that Lucy had enough sense to keep working her lungs. She did. The scream began again, this time rather muffled and in short bits, like Morse code. I glanced over my shoulder and spotted Linus on my tail, followed by Pigpen. I didn't have time to stop and think why _he_ was following us; I just had to make up my mind and turn left, darting down the street towards the screams.

The three of us reached the end of the block, panting and whipping our heads every which way, trying to decide which direction the screams were coming from. This task was becoming increasingly difficult as we drew closer to Lucy's screams, for the sound seemed to engulf us all, surrounding us and trapping us inside of itself. After a brief moment of confusion, I pointed to the left.

"This way!" I slurred quickly, barely giving anyone time to look where I was pointing before heading off into that direction. The others luckily caught on quickly and rushed after me, high on my heels, panting and sweating behind me. The most ironically funny part of all of this, I must admit now that I reflect on it, is imagining people's reactions as we darted down the streets at midnight, chasing after the screams in nothing but our formal attire. We must have looked pretty silly to the common passerby. But I wasn't particularly worried about that at the time.

"Lucy!" I heard Linus screech. My gaze darted behind me and I saw Linus stop dead in his tracks. One by one, Pigpen and I followed his lead. He was staring at a red pickup truck, parked on the curb in the street. Although the rest of us had been running in the street, looking every which way for the girl, we had failed to look very closely. The screams had become muffled and faint because there she was, sitting inside that red pickup truck, banging on the windows for help. Three men stood around the truck, each smoking a cigarette and looking positively wasted. They grinned eagerly at us as we approached.

"I knew 'er little boyfriend would be showin' up sooner or later," one of the men said, flicking his cigarette butt in our direction. The blunt missed Pigpen by an inch, nearly scorching him by the dirt cloud that surrounded him. The other two men sniggered. Lucy proceeded to holler even louder than ever, now that she saw the three of us.

"Must be this one, he looks pretty confident," said the second man, jabbing his thumb in my direction. I straightened my shoulders.

"Let her go," I growled at the men, standing as tall as I could and trying to look fierce. I suppose my tone wasn't _quite_ convincing enough, for the men sniggered again and Pigpen hiccupped.

"Why don't you just try and make us, squirt?" The first man threatened, taking charge in front of his buddies. The second man now flicked his own cigarette towards us, and it landed at the ground near my feet. The glistening embers on the end of the stick glowed brightly for a moment before fading to black ash. I stepped on it, nearly feeling the heat beneath my shoes. The third man, mute thus far, followed in his colleagues' actions and attempted to flick his cigarette, however it flew in an off direction and landed in the grass nowhere near us. Linus ignored him, running up to the truck and trying to force open the door. No such luck—it was locked. Nevertheless, he yanked frantically on the door, with Lucy on the inside, attempting to find a lock button. The men just laughed. By the sound of their laughter, I don't think there actually _was_ a lock button on the inside.

I was furious. Just the sight of Lucy in that car, and Linus nearly in tears trying to open the door, and Pigpen's hiccups echoing in my ears, mixing with the sound of Lucy's screams and the men's laughter made me see red. I didn't know what to do. These men were at least three times my size. I glanced around. We were standing in front of a normal brick house, assumedly belonging to the men, or one of them, the windows black and forbidding. All of the surrounding houses were identically dark, taunting the three of us, teasing us and daring us to make a move. On the front lawn of a house next door I spotted a black mound of something. It was misshapen and lopsided. It looked like it was a pile of something ...wood ...or metal planks, possibly. The neighbors must have been doing some construction. Nobody moved, save for Linus, still frantically trying to unlock the car. My eyes darted to my left, trying to lock my gaze with Pigpen's. He didn't look at me. His eyes were locked on the men, looking absolutely disgusted with them—a real accomplishment for him. Pigpen never thought anything was disgusting. I wasn't going to turn around and face him completely; I didn't trust my back against these guys. I figured I had one chance at this.

I locked eyes with the first guy again. He stood there grinning at me. The other two guys had their eyes on Linus, taking minute, inching steps towards him with their fists clenched. This had all happened in a matter of seconds. With one last prayerful glance at Linus, I made my move.

I darted towards the pile of wood—I could see that it was wood now—and grasped one of the planks. I didn't look to see everyone's reactions behind me, but I heard not a sound. It was then that I realized my arms were built for piano playing, not heavy lifting. I barely dragged the plank off the top of the pile. I stole a glance at the men back by the truck, who watched me with sort of amused, quizzical looks. I paid them no mind, and began to wonder if I was ever going to be able to lift this thing. All of a sudden, Lucy let out another one of her famous fussbudget screams. I don't quite understand why, but right then I was reminded of something that had happened two summers ago. Lucy had been over my house, listening to me play Beethoven as usual. I had been very amused with playing this game with her, reeling her in and then granting her slack. She became very annoyed, more annoyed than I had ever seen her, and she screamed something in my face that still haunts my dreams to this day. She had looked me dead in the eye and hollered, "Schroeder, if you love me, then why don't you act like it?" and she'd stormed out on me right then and there.

That moment, standing there trying to lift up that wood plank with Lucy's screams causing my eardrums to throb, I was reminded of her accusation from so long ago, and I was filled with the strength of fifty men. I was determined to prove it to her now, to make up for all the times I could have but didn't. I lifted the wood plank with ease, swinging it over my head and charging at the men. I wasn't quite sure what it was I planned to do with the plank, but I was sure something would happen. I shouted out a battle cry, startling the men, who backed up and exchanged a confused look. I heard sirens in the distance. Thank god. Pigpen's hiccups grew louder and louder, almost as loud as Lucy's screams.

"Linus, _move_!" I belted, heading towards the truck. Linus started and hopped back just in time for me to bring down the plank on the windshield.

By some stroke of miraculous luck, the windshield shattered under the impact. I hoped with all my living being that I didn't hit Lucy. At that moment, many things happened at once. It all seemed to go by in slow motion, as if somebody had tapped a button on some ominous remote above us, determined to watch the whole scene as it played out.

"My _truck_!" the first man bellowed, his hands flying to his head, his mouth held open in a great big O. Glass shattered everywhere.

"Dude, it's the cops!" the second man worried, slapping the third on the shoulder. He had been right. A blue-and-white police car pulled up to the scene, siren blaring above any other sound. The red-and-blue lights reflected off of the shattered glass like a laser light show, cutting through the pitch black night like a red-and-blue fish through black water. The two men glanced back at the first man, and then booked it towards the house, tripping over their own heels as they ran. I saw the arms of the policemen suddenly wrap around those of the first man, holding him tight, however he did not fight back. He was still concerned about his precious truck, almost afraid to approach it, as if he was caught in the middle of a bad dream.

As the glass and dust cloud cleared, I closed my eyes and prayed, reaching my arm through the windshield of the truck, hoping Lucy was still able to receive the gesture and allow me to help her out of the wreckage.

**Lucy **

It was like an explosion. One second, she was pounding on the window, screaming bloody murder, and the next thing she knew, she was throwing herself down onto the floor of the truck, trying to get out of the way as the glass shattered all around her, the sound echoing in her ears. It was just exactly like an explosion. It felt as if each and every tiny shard of glass had pierced her skin somewhere. She felt the tiny sparks all over her body as if someone had suddenly set her on fire.

She lifted her arm in front of her eyes, attempting to shield herself from the impact, yet only scratching herself in the process. She could barely feel it now, with varying levels of pain spreading throughout every inch of her body. She quickly became numb and pushed the pain to the back of her mind. When the shattering had stopped, and all of the glass lay still and she could hear the sound of sirens and footsteps and shouts of confusion, she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a hand. It was his hand, and she recognized it right away. Only this time, instead of being smooth and gentle whilst composing Beethoven on the black-and-white keys, they were rough and calloused and reaching for her through the wreckage like a light in the darkness.

Lucy removed her arm from over her face and grasped his wrist tightly. The action stung, but she barely felt it. With a firm yank, Schroeder pulled her up through the windshield and out of the demolished truck. She locked eyes with him and he grimaced. She didn't know what it was that had made him do that after seeing her, but it was quite likely she didn't want to. She could plainly see that her once-perfect blue dress had been torn to shreds by the glass and the violent men. She felt disgusting—sticky and hot and gross. She could tell she was bleeding somewhere, but she didn't even want to know where.

She stepped over the dashboard of the truck onto the hood. He took hold of her waist and carefully lifted her down from the truck, setting her back on the ground below.

Their eyes were still locked; Lucy's arms wrapped tight around Schroeder's. He still held her firmly by the waist, and neither one had any intention of letting go.

"Lucy, I'm so, so sorr—" but he didn't have time to get the words out. Before he could finish his sentence, her lips were on his, taking him by surprise. Time stood still for that moment, the moment their lips were together and their arms wrapped tightly around one another. The kiss sent shivers down Lucy's spine, dulling her pain completely and soothing her. Schroeder, though met with her lips by surprise, quickly caught up with her and returned the kiss in full valor, nearly eleven years' worth of feelings come gushing out of him in one gesture.

When at last they pulled apart, the world began to turn again, however in slow motion it may have been. They stared at each other for another minute, Schroeder in complete shock and Lucy with a wide grin on her scratched up face.

Then she fainted into his arms. The excitement must have been too much for her—that was crazy, since this was Lucy. However upon further observation, she did have pretty deep cuts all over her arms and legs that were causing her to lose a lot of blood. So she passed out—and Schroeder had been right there to catch her this time.

**Linus**

*The next day*

They let Lucy go home after asking us about a million questions and patching up her scratches. There were a few tears of the skin here and there, and her dress was no more, but she was alive and well and that's all anyone, especially Schroeder, could have hoped for.

Still, I don't think I've ever been more scared of anything in my whole life.

When I heard my sister's screams and saw her locked in that truck like that, something snapped inside of me and I don't know what. I just knew I had to get her out of there, no matter what. I've never been more frightened—right after she'd attempted giving me relationship advice, too! I never saw her look so small and weak. I had always seen my big sister as the strong one, the independent one. But I was wrong. On the outside, sure, she's strong and tough and mean, but on the inside she's soft, delicate, and breakable. I knew she had been smoking. I didn't ask her about it, I just was there to hold her hair while she hacked into the toilet after doing it. I couldn't understand why she would want to destroy herself like that, but I wasn't going to ask. I didn't want to be slugged. I saw that soft underside of Lucy when Schroeder had come into the backyard that night. I saw the mixed feelings of longing and pain in her eyes, and I felt for her, I really did. Because I knew—sort of—how it felt.

Through all the excitement, I had completely forgotten about Sally. The kids back at the party for sure knew of the goings-on with Lucy before it had even happened. But I figured Sally was too preoccupied with, uh, _other things_ to really care about my sister. Still, she did visit the next evening, sporting tight black leggings and a striped grey and off-white turtle neck (due to the innumerable hickeys on her neck, or simply because of the weather I did not know). From the cream-colored hat on her head to the fluffy white boots on her feet, she looked stunning. But I couldn't let her know I thought so. I was still furious about the night before. So when Sally Brown knocked on our front door with a little package in her hands and adorable pink flush in her cheeks because of the cold, I winced internally and scowled at her.

"Lucy's in her room," I muttered, without even sparing more than a glance her way. Unluckily for me, that tiny glance happened to be directly into those piercing blue eyes, and I shivered visibly.

Sally shook off her boots and stepped inside, those wide blue eyes conveying the front room as if it were her first time being there. I rolled my eyes when she had her back turned, but somehow I felt she could still sense it.

She removed her little boots and set them on the mat by the door, whispering, "I'll only be a minute," to me and shuffling down the hall with her little package. I kept my eyes on her boots, sitting there by the door, innocent and cute as a button. I felt like I couldn't look away from them without bursting into tears. It was strange.

After about a few moments or so, I could hear Sally's soft padded footsteps down the hall, followed by smaller, quicker ones. I couldn't look, but I knew they were there; Sally stood before me with my little brother, Rerun, both watching me stare at the boots. Sally's small talk was enough to make me rip off my own ears.

"You like those boots?" she asked devilishly. I flicked my eyes to her and stared at her menacingly. "I got them as an early Christmas present from my Aunt Griselda. You know, she..." but once she saw the look on my face, she knew it would be a poor choice to continue. Rerun stood there with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You didn't tell me Schroeder was here, Linus," he said to me. "His car's in the driveway!"

I nodded, not taking my eyes off of Sally. "Yeah, he's been here a while now. He's in Lucy's room."

Sally's face brightened. "Oh, Rerun, why don't you go say hi?" but he didn't need to be told twice. He was already halfway down the hallway before she'd finished her sentence.

She straightened her back and faced me. "Do you want to take a walk with me, Linus?" she asked quietly. Her eyes shifted to the floor, but I could still see the look in her bright eyes. All I could do was nod. It felt like the homecoming dance all over again, only this time, she wasn't leading me to heaven, she was leading me straight to hell. I threw on my coat as she stuck her feet into her boots and we both headed outside into the cold.

It had snowed overnight and there was a fresh thin layer of the fluffy white stuff sugaring the ground. I shoved my hands into my pockets. In the left one, my blanket felt warm and comforting, assuring me that I could do this. We trekked wordlessly through the light snow down the front porch and out onto the sidewalk. For a few moments, neither of us said anything, the only sound between us the crunch of snow beneath our feet. Our footsteps left a haunting trail of memories behind us. I was reminded of the night before, and I winced.

"What is it?" she asked dumbly. She had been watching me. What a silly question.

"What is it?" I repeated with a scowl, "I'm pretty sure you know very well what 'it' is."

She shook her head quickly as if shaking out a memory. "I know, Linus, I know what's bothering you. But you can't sulk about the fact that I kissed someone who wasn't you. Just because we were dates at the dance doesn't mean you own me."

I stopped walking, my jaw hanging unattractively down by my neck, and she turned around to face me. The icy look in her eyes pierced right through to my soul. "Yes, Sally, I'm upset that you did that. I thought...I really thought we had something."

Sally looked away from me, watching her feet. "So did I," she mumbled, "until you left me alone on the dance floor."

That stung. It really did. I lifted one of my hands to cover my reddening face and the other tightened around the blanket in my pocket. I grimaced and stared at the ground, not able to meet her eyes. "Sally, I'm so sorry about that. I just... I got nervous, and I didn't know what to do—"

"So you ran away from me? This whole time here I was, thinking I did something wrong, after all the effort I put in to make you happy, and you left me there." she paused. I still couldn't look at her, but I could tell she was looking at me. She sighed. "I thought I was about to get my first kiss, Linus. I was excited, because I wanted my first kiss...and I wanted it to be with you."

I winced again. Every word she said was like another stab straight in the heart.

"If you wanted it to be me so badly, then why did you just give it away to that Stephen kid?" I asked her honestly.

"Because I was mad, okay? I never wanted it to be him, but I told myself I'd get my first kiss last night, even if it wasn't yours."

Just the mere thought of Sally Brown having her first kiss with someone as shallow as Stephen make my heart ache. The memory of the two of them on Violet's couch made me want to hurl.

"Besides," she continued, brushing a strand of hair away from her face, "he's a nice guy. He's sweet, sensitive, and he knew just what to say." she shrugged, as if that was the most logical explanation. To me, it wasn't. I scoffed.

"Well if you love him so much, why didn't you force him to go to homecoming with you and not me?"

She seemed infuriated by that question, and her eyebrows scrunched together angrily. "You know perfectly well that I don't _love_ him!" she shouted at me, for now the both of us had raised our voices. "You know that the only one I've had my heart set on for ages is you and you alone." tears began to make her eyes glisten and she sniffled. It somehow felt good, having her yell at me. I felt like I deserved it. "And for a moment there on the dance floor last night, I thought you might possibly felt the same way. Well, I guess not." Two glistening tears slid down her pink cheeks, and she stuck her tongue out to lick them off her lips. I know it sure wasn't the time or place, but I sure thought that there was nothing in the whole world that was more innocent than that little movement. I wanted to comfort her somehow; I wanted to say the right thing. But at that moment, I felt exactly like Charlie Brown. Lost and hopeless and lonely. And I was angry. If she thought we had so much, then why did she just give up? Why didn't she chase after me, call me back?

I asked her. Why didn't you chase me? After a long pause, I decided that she just wasn't going to answer that question. She just shook her head without a word. The tears were streaming down her face and she didn't look at me. She turned to the side and wiped at them frantically with the back of her hand, as if she could hide them from me somehow.

Finally, she spoke. "I've been chasing after you for my whole life, Linus. I've done my time chasing you, and just look where that got me. Maybe it was your turn to chase me."

Then she whirled around. Her voice cracked and the tears continued to swell in her eyes. Then she did something that absolutely killed me inside. She started to walk away. The sky had begun to dim, the short wintry day wasting away into nothing. The low sunlight sparkled off of the blankets of snow, sending bright rainbows of color across the crystal ground. I looked up to the sky. There were clouds overhead, not dark ones, not ominous ones, but big, billowy, snow clouds. It was going to snow.

Sally was walking away, and she was walking away fast. I wanted to say something, to call after her. But I couldn't. My voice was caught in my throat and I couldn't think what to say. Sally walked back towards my house, slowing her pace just a little once she reached the corner of the block. I could tell she wanted me to follow her; to chase after her and beg for her to stay. But I didn't. I couldn't. I watched her get smaller and smaller in the distance. My heart was torn. I was going to just let her go, then? Was that it? Just let the only girl who'd ever loved me disappear into the distance as I looked on? I was going to let her slip away from me? When I was so close—so _close_, man!

No, of course not. I had let her get away once already, and that had been my fault. That should have been me, giving Sally her first kiss. That was _my_ kiss. For her. What would have happened if I would have kissed her on the dance floor, instead of running away? I pictured the image for the millionth time since the night before. I could almost see those tender blue eyes; could almost feel the softness of her strawberry blonde hair...

I was holding my blanket in my arms. I didn't know how long I'd been standing there, watching Sally go until she'd gone. I knew only two things. First of all, I was never going to give Sally her kiss unless I made a move and went after her. Secondly, my blanket had nothing on that luscious hair.

In one quick movement, I jumped up (I had fallen to the ground in my little fantasy) and began to sprint off towards my house. The sound of my feet crunching the snow beneath them pounded in my ears. I ran until I couldn't feel my lungs anymore and I could taste the snow on the air. Finally I approached my house. I prayed that Sally hadn't gotten picked up yet and she was waiting for me back inside the house. I burst through the door, startling Rerun, who happened to be standing in the living room with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk. He jumped three feet in the air and there was suddenly a 100 percent chance of milk showers and chocolate chips.

"Linus!" he cried, kneeling over to pick up the accident.

"Where's Sally?" I panted. He just shook his head. I scrunched my eyebrows worriedly. "What? Where is she?"

"Not here, obviously. She probably hates you now."

"What?" I cried disbelievingly. It couldn't be. "She does? Did she tell you that? Was she in here? What did she say to you?"

"Why?" he teased, fetching a dish rag from the counter on the kitchen island to clean the milk. "What do you have to say to her?"

I blinked. I didn't have time to be interrogated by my little brother. "Is she here, or not?"

"That depends on what you have to say."

I almost ripped my hair out, I was so furious. I grabbed Rerun by the scrawny, bony shoulders and gave him a good shake. "I need to tell her I love her, that I'm sorry for everything! That I should have kissed her at the dance and I never should have let that bastard Stephen lay a hand on _my_ girl!" I choked out in one breath. "Now, can you tell me where she went, _please_?"

Rerun chuckled slyly. "Sure, you blockhead." I could have slugged him. "She's still here. Try Lucy's room."

Before he had even finished his sentence, I had darted through the hallway and barged through the door of Lucy's room.

Baaaaad idea. Lucy sat up on her bed with Schroeder stretched out beside her, their faces permanently sewn together, their arms do intertwined I couldn't tell whose were whose. I grinned sheepishly as they didn't even pull apart, backed out of the room, and closed the door behind me.

I was about to run and kill my kid brother for lying twice, when I heard something from behind the door to my room across the hall. I didn't remember shutting the door, but it was closed. For some reason, I was afraid to go in. But that seemed silly. It was _my_ room. If Sally were in there, _she'd_ look like the foolish one. So I straightened my shoulders, have a curt nod, grasped the handle of my bedroom door and pushed it open.

The room was dark save for the thin sliver of light by the door that I'd slid through. I reached for the light switch, but something—some_one_—caught my arm. She took my hand and held it in hers, inching ever so close to me. In a split second she was right up next to me, her arms wrapped around my shoulders, shutting the door behind me. The room was now so dark; I could not see a thing. I could, however, feel Sally's arms around my neck.

"Linus," I felt her whisper in my ear. I couldn't respond. My voice was caught in my throat. "Did you mean it, what you said?" What I said? What did I say? I couldn't think straight. My left hand flew to my pocket, wrapping my fingers around the blanket.

"Did you mean what you said to Rerun just now?" she repeated. I stopped. Did she hear what I'd said?

I nodded. "Y-yes," I stuttered. I shut my eyes tightly and started rubbing the blanket again.

Before I knew what was happening, her soft lips were on mine, and she was kissing me. And the funny thing was, _I_ was kissing _her_ back. I let go of my blanket.

After about a million years, she pulled apart from me. Even in the pitch blackness, I could see her bright white smile shining a million watts at me. It was enough to light up the entire room. I reached up and allowed my hands to get lost in her soft, silky blonde hair.

"I'm so sorry, Sally," I whispered. But she just shook her head, that smile still stuck on her face. "Really, I am," I assured her. She kept smiling.

"Now _that_ was a _real_ first kiss," she said. "No matter what anybody says."

I blushed intensely and she giggled.

I flipped on the light switch. After blinking a few times to get used to the light, I looked at her. I mean I _really_ looked at her. She was more beautiful than ever, with that true smile on her fair face. She blushed a little when she noticed me looking at her, and she was ten times more beautiful. Just then, looking into her eyes, her kiss still making my head spin, I did something without thinking.

In one swift movement, I had my blanket out of my pocket and into the trash can beside my desk. I didn't even look twice as I turned back to Sally, pulling her arms around me again.

"But Linus," she protested with a little gasp. Even her intake of air was enough to drive me crazy. She pulled away from me and her eyes darted to the trash can. "That's your blanket... your _blanket_. Don't you ...need that?"

I just shook my head, pulling her closer to me again. "Not anymore," I told her. I wasn't lying. "I've got something much better. So much better."

Without another word, I closed whatever distance there was between us and tangled my fingers in her soft hair again. Her bright blue eyes twinkled at me and that perfect smile grew back onto her tempting mouth. I didn't say a single word. She reached over my shoulder and flipped the light switch back off, meeting her lips with mine once more.


End file.
